Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in South Korea has unveiled a bizarre toilet that is designed to turn human waste into digital currency that can be used by students and faculty members. Called the BeeVi Toilet, designed by urban and environmental engineering professor Cho Jae-weon, essentially utilizes a vacuum pump to send excrement into an underground tank, reducing water use.
After being pumped into the underground tank, microorganisms break down the waste to methane, which becomes a source of energy for the building, powering a gas stove, hot-water boiler and solid oxide fuel cell. Now here’s what it gets interesting, since an average person produces around 500g of waste per day, which can be converted to 50 litres of methane gas, the 0.5kWh of electricity generated earns around 10 Ggool a day. This digital currency can be used for purchases on campus, whether it be for a quick snack or even textbooks.
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I had only ever thought that feces are dirty, but now it is a treasure of great value to me. I even talk about feces during mealtimes to think about buying any book I want,” said Heo Hui-jin, postgraduate student at the Ggool market.
