Video: Watch Bill Gates drink from a machine that converts poop into water

Bill Gates' love for social causes is well-known. The Microsoft founder has in the past work extensively on the issue of AIDS, sanitation and other social issues across the world, including India.In the latest blog post, Bill Gates has shared a video of a himself drinking water from a machine that converts poop into water, electricity and ash. You can watch the video above.The machine called the 'Omniprocessor' has been created by Janicki Bioenergy, a small engineering firm based outside of Seattle.Gates wrote in his blog post, "I watched the piles of feces go up the conveyer belt and drop into a large bin. They made their way through the machine, getting boiled and treated. A few minutes later I took a long taste of the end result: a glass of delicious drinking water."According to the video, the machine converts human waste into water, electricity and ash by heating it at high temperatures. The initial water vapours that are released when the machine dries out the waste is then passed through a water cleaning system. Thereafter, you get clean water. Also the machine is running at a very high temperature (over 1000 degrees celsius) which means there is no smell from the burning human waste either.[caption id="attachment_2034593" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Screenshot from the video.[/caption]The Omniprocessor relies on a steam engine and thus doesn't need more electricity to burn the next batch of waste and ends up powering itself. The creators says it even makes electricity to spare.Bill Gates also noted in this blog post that, "The water tasted as good as any I’ve had out of a bottle. And having studied the engineering behind it, I would happily drink it every day. It’s that safe."He also said that the idea of turning waste into water and electricity shouldn't be surprising because across the world close to $2 billion people don't have access to clean water or sanitation and this machine could ensure that human waste is cleared up in a clean and environment-friendly way.Gates noted on his blog that "the next-generation processor, more advanced than the one I saw, will handle waste from 100,000 people, producing up to 86,000 liters of potable water a day and a net 250 kw of electricity." A pilot project will start later in 2015 in Dakar, Senegal.Gates went on to say that "if things go well in Senegal, we’ll start looking for partners in the developing world. For example I think it could be a great fit in India, where there are lots of entrepreneurs who could own and operate the processors, as well as companies with the skill to manufacture many of the parts."If this project turns out to be a success, it could prove to be a boon, at least as far as waste management is concerned in developing countries. Whether or not everyone will be keen to drink water from the machine might be the harder challenge to overcome.