A toilet is in use at a university in South Korea that converts human waste into digital money.
Students who use the toilet can earn 10 Ggool a day, which is enough to get them coffee, bananas, or even books on the university campus.
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This toilet can turn poop into digital moneyPhoto credit: Reuters
The eco-friendly toilet was designed by Cho Jae-weon, a professor of urban and environmental engineering at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST).
His toilet is connected to a laboratory that collects feces and converts it into energy in the form of biogas.
The toilet is called BeeVi.
It uses a pump to move human feces to an underground tank.
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The toilet is connected to a machine in a laboratory that converts the feces into energyPhoto credit: Reuters
The vacuum pump is used to reduce water waste.
In the tank, microorganisms decompose human waste and convert it into methane.
This methane is then used as fuel for things like boiling water and running stoves around the building.
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Students can register for the toilet programPhoto credit: Reuters
According to Reuters, the professor said, “If we think outside the box, feces are valuable for making energy and fertilizer.
Graduate student Heo Hui-jin allegedly added, “I always thought the poop was dirty, but now it’s a treasure of great value to me.
“I even talk about poop during meals to think about buying a book I want.”
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Microorganisms in a tank break down the feces and turn them into methane gasPhoto credit: Reuters
The average person produces around 500 g of feces a day.
According to Professor Jae-weon, this can produce 50 liters of methane gas.
That amount of energy could supposedly drive a car 0.75 miles.
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The money that is generated by the toilet can only be spent at the universityPhoto credit: Reuters
People who use the toilet, who make digital coins, are paid in a made-up currency called Ggool.
Ggool means honey in Korean.
Everyone who uses the environmentally friendly toilet receives 10 Ggool a day.
That should be enough for coffee, instant noodles or fruit.
Students can also save up their Ggool to buy books.
The average price for a latte in South Korea is around £ 3, according to Statista.
To spend the digital money, students only need to use a special QR code.
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