Samsung Electronics develops toilet tech for developing countries

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Samsung Electronics have worked on a challenge facing many underdeveloped countries but is relatively underpublicized: toilets.  

After three years of research, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), the research and development arm of the Korean electronics maker, succeeded in developing core technologies and a prototype of a hygienic toilet designed to kill pathogens and recycle water waste.  

The endeavor is the result of the foundation’s “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge,” which explores ways to improve accessibility to proper toilets in underdeveloped and developing countries. Diseases can spread easily in locations lacking sufficient sanitization systems, and children under 5 are especially vulnerable. 

“The core technologies developed by Samsung include heat-treatment and bioprocessing technologies to kill pathogens from human waste and make the released effluent and solids safe for the environment,” Samsung Electronics said in a statement.  
“The system enables the treated water to be fully recycled. Solid waste is dehydrated, dried, and combusted into ash, while liquid waste is treated through a biological purification process,” it said.  

Samsung Electronics said that it plans to offer royalty-free licenses of patents related to the technologies to developing countries during the commercialization stage.  

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong shared the result with Bill Gates on Aug. 16 when the American billionaire and philanthropist visited Korea.  

The two parties held a ceremony celebrating the successful completion of the project on Thursday.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]