Gates sips water made from poo to prove latest tech triumph

Microsoft founder creates 'OmniProcessor' to help provide safe sanitation to developing world

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has downed a glass of water made from boiled-up human poo in a bid to raise awareness of the latest technology backed by his philanthropic foundation.

The Janicki OmniProcessor – which was designed by scientists at Janicki Biochemistry in Washington state – works by turning human waste into clean drinking water in just five minutes.

In a video posted on Bill Gates' blog (view below), CEO Peter Janicki demonstrates the latest creation, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

"The OmniProcessor turns sewer sludge – which is kind of nasty – into clean drinking water, electricity and ash which is pathogen free," Janicki said.

The "sewer sludge" is at first fed into the machine and is boiled up. The steam from the boiling process powers an engine which generates electricity which in turn powers the machine itself as well as the local community. The "solids" remaining from the boiling process are used to fuel the fire. The vapours are then cleaned and filtered to create the "cleanest, purest water you can possibly imagine", Janicki said.

And to prove just how clean the water was, Gates took a sip of the concoction himself.

"It's water!" he confirmed.

According to Forbes' Rich List, Gates is the richest person in the world with a personal fortune of $72bn (£47.7bn). Since its inception, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has handed out grants worth $31.6bn to projects in the developing world.

Gates said in the video that the Janicki OmniProcessor could help the 2.5bn people worldwide who do not have access to safe sanitation.