Five million individuals primarily children die each year from diarrheal diseases. Most of these diseases are transmitted by drinking water that is contaminated with fecal pathogens. Current strategies for disinfecting human waste are energy and water intensive and require expensive chemicals. Areas where these diseases are endemic often lack the funds and infrastructure to provide the sanitation services we take for granted. The current invention developed by researchers at the University of Missouri is a solar sanitizer that uses passive solar energy to disinfect human and animal waste and reduce the transmission of diarrheal diseases. The device can be operated with a minimum amount of instruction and can either be constructed locally from recycled materials or manufactured commercially. Once the waste has been disinfected it can be safely disposed of or used as a source or nitrogen rich fertilizer. Potential Areas of Applications: - Developing countries - Natural disaster areas - Conflict areas with damaged infrastructure - Natural parks and wildlife areas - Mobile relief teams construction teams or military units
1) Portable cheap easy to use and safe 2) Does not require water chemicals or energy other than the sun 3) Can be constructed locally or centrally from recycled materials 4) End product can be used as a cheap source of fertilizer