Sol Char Toilet
University of Colorado Boulder
The Sol Char Toilet uses solar power to convert waste into charcoal and fertilizer.
The Sol-Char Toilet is a prototype toilet system with user interface, storage, and treatment. Parabolic dishes concentrate sunlight and convert it to heat that is used to disinfect excreta and make charcoal and fertilizer from it. An introductory video to the prototype is found here.
Global; the prototype needs sunlight to function properly, hence regions with high sunlight are mainly targeted. It is constructed to operate off-sewer, to allow functionality in water scarce regions (often coinciding with sunny regions). In prototype phase 1, the toilet was laboratory tested. A field pilot is part of the planned phase 2.
University of Colorado Boulder, Sol-Char research team
2,600-11,000 USD, depending on the size of the system.
Other competitors in the “Reinvent the toilet challenge” such as the toilets made by California Institute of Technology and Loughborough University.
Communities and households without access to adequate sanitation, wastewater infrastructure, or that use charcoal as an energy source; farmers and other users interested in fertilizer and soil amendments; people interested in recycling and sustainable technology.
