At the university in the city of Ulsan in South Korea, students are paid to go to the bathroom.
Professor Cho Jea-weon has invented a toilet called BeeVi that converts feces into energy, and by using the toilet, students are paid in a virtual currency that they can use to buy food, drinks and books at university.
It was TV2 who first mentioned the case.
Converted to methane
Instead of water, the toilet uses a vacuum pump to send feces into an underground tank. This reduces water consumption. Into the tank, microorganisms are broken down into the waste into methane, which can be used as an energy source for the building.
Professor Cho Jae-weon at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) presents a stool tank in his laboratory. Photo: Minwoo Park / Reuters
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At the moment, the toilets ensure that, among other things, a gas stove and a water heater are supplied with electricity.
– If we think outside the box, then feces have precious value for making energy and fertilizer. I have put this value into ecological circulation, says Jea-weon Reuters.
According to him, a person produces an average of 500 grams of feces every day. Through his invention, this can yield 50 liters of methane gas.
Pay with QR code
The virtual currency the students get after each dobe visit has been named Ggool. It means honey in Korean.
Payment is made by scanning a QR code.
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