Korean professor uses bio-waste to mine cryptocurrencies

“Shitcoin” may no longer be just a term used to describe altcoin projects with problematic value propositions, as a Korean university professor put the term on a more meaningful side.

Cho Jae-weon from the National Institute of Science and Technology in Ulsan, South Korea, has developed an environmentally friendly toilet system that produces fertilizer and energy from human feces.

Jae-weon, professor of urban and environmental engineering, said the toilet system contains a vacuum pump that diverts human waste to an underground storage tank to produce biogas (methane).

The professor’s experiment is to run a university building, gas stoves and water heaters with biogas, among other things.

“If we think outside the box, manure is valuable for generating energy and manure. I have included this value in the ecological cycle, ”says the professor.

Jae-weon’s experiment also includes a digital currency component with a native token called Ggool, which is used to incentivize the introduction of environmentally friendly toilets. Students earn 10 Ggool a day using the bathroom and using the digital currency to buy coffee, bananas, and even books on campus.

Connected: Survey by the Bitcoin Mining Council estimates a sustainable energy mix of 56% in the second quarter

Explaining the viability of human excrement as a source of electricity, the professor said that feces produced by the average person can produce up to 0.5 kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power a car that can reach 3/4 of a mile . .

Cryptocurrency mining stakeholders are moving towards greener energy sources, especially given the current backlash from policy makers to the alleged carbon emissions of this process. The Bitcoin Mining Council estimates that 56% of Bitcoin mining currently uses sustainable energy sources.