熱心于公益事業(yè)的比爾·蓋茨這些年在環(huán)保馬桶上沒(méi)少花錢(qián)。自從蓋茨基金會(huì)于2011年發(fā)起了“改造馬桶挑戰(zhàn)”后，已有多個(gè)機(jī)構(gòu)參與過(guò)這一挑戰(zhàn)。近日三星研發(fā)出一款無(wú)需用水并能把便便燒成灰的馬桶，既環(huán)保又節(jié)能，有望投入大規(guī)模生產(chǎn)。

For over a decade, Bill Gates has had a distinct focus on toilets. As part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge launched in 2011, part of an effort to transform toilet technologies to manage human waste safely and effectively for the billions of people using unsafe sanitation facilities across the globe.

十多年來(lái)，比爾·蓋茨對(duì)馬桶一直情有獨(dú)鐘。比爾及梅琳達(dá)·蓋茨基金會(huì)于2011年發(fā)起了“改造馬桶挑戰(zhàn)”，目的是通過(guò)改革馬桶技術(shù)為全球數(shù)十億使用不安全衛(wèi)生設(shè)施的人安全有效地處理糞便。

The latest project in this challenge comes from Samsung, which created a toilet that uses no water and can turn human waste into ashes.

參與這一挑戰(zhàn)的最新馬桶由三星研發(fā)，無(wú)需用水還能將人類糞便化成灰。

Born out of the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, the research and development arm of Samsung Electronics, the team presented the finished core technologies and a “successfully developed and tested prototype,” to Gates as part of a partnership between the two groups, according to a Samsung press release.

據(jù)三星的新聞稿稱，三星電子的研發(fā)機(jī)構(gòu)三星綜合技術(shù)院團(tuán)隊(duì)將已完成的核心技術(shù)和“成功研發(fā)并經(jīng)過(guò)測(cè)試的馬桶原型”交給了合作方比爾·蓋茨。

The three years of research and development from Samsung led to a prototype good for household use and the development of components and modular technology with the goal of easy commercialization.

三星花了三年時(shí)間研發(fā)出的這款原型產(chǎn)品不僅適合家庭使用，而且組件和模塊化技術(shù)也便于投入商業(yè)化生產(chǎn)。

Core Samsung technologies include heat treatment and bioprocessing to kill pathogens from human waste and make the released effluent and solids safe for the environment. The toilet system enables the treated water to be fully recycled. Solid waste is dehydrated, dried, and combusted into ashes, while liquid waste is treated through a biological purification process.

三星的這些核心技術(shù)包括殺死人類糞便中病原菌并將排泄物進(jìn)行環(huán)保處理的熱處理和生物工藝。有了這一馬桶系統(tǒng)，經(jīng)過(guò)處理的廢水便可以完全回收利用。固態(tài)糞便經(jīng)過(guò)脫水、干燥后燃成灰，而液態(tài)糞便則進(jìn)行生物凈化處理。

Samsung plans to offer royalty-free licenses of patents related to the project to developing countries during the commercialization stage and will work with the foundation to bring the technology to mass production.

三星計(jì)劃在商業(yè)化階段向發(fā)展中國(guó)家提供該馬桶項(xiàng)目的免版稅的專利許可，并將與蓋茨基金會(huì)合作將這一技術(shù)投入大批量生產(chǎn)。

Dubbed as energy efficient, the toilet requires no water, serving as a bonus for use in remote areas, the same places where the nitrogen and micro-pollutants from human waste can prove dangerous to the environment and people that encounter it.

這款號(hào)稱很節(jié)能的馬桶不需要水，非常適合在偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)使用，也正是在這些地方，人類糞便中的氮和微污染物會(huì)危害到環(huán)境和接觸到糞便的人。

The Reinvent the Toilet Challenge has remained on a steady course since its inception in 2011, including hosting Reinvented Toilet Expo events over the years. “There are 4.5 billion people in the world without access to adequate sanitation systems,” Doulaye Koné, Gates Foundation deputy director of water, sanitation, and health, says in a past statement. “We need new science and new engineering to solve the problem.”

自從2011年發(fā)起“改造馬桶挑戰(zhàn)”后，這一活動(dòng)一直在正軌上，這些年還舉辦過(guò)多屆改造馬桶博覽會(huì)。蓋茨基金會(huì)的水、衛(wèi)生和健康部副主任杜拉葉·科內(nèi)曾在一份聲明中說(shuō)道：“世界上有45億人沒(méi)有像樣的衛(wèi)生系統(tǒng)可用，我們需要新科學(xué)和新工程來(lái)解決這一問(wèn)題?！?/p>

英文來(lái)源：Popular Mechanics

翻譯&編輯：丹妮