H2J
Bio-design concept bathroom converting human waste into carbon-negative hydrogen to fund public restroom access.
Student Project
Role
Design Team Manager
Industry
Industrial Design
Project Time-line
3 months • 2025
Overview
Created for a bio-design competition in San Francisco, this group project developed a bathroom that converts waste into hydrogen through biological processes.
Problem
San Francisco faces public waste issues due to limited restroom access, with existing solutions slow and costly, people leave feaces in the streets.
Contraints
Hydrogen production viable only at scale requiring off-site processing. Materials needed sustainable sourcing
Goals
Create a financially feasible, self-sustaining restroom model using bio-design.
Outcome
The final concept is a self-sustaining portable restroom that converts human waste into hydrogen through co-fermentation with e-coli. Revenue from hydrogen and carbon credits funds maintenance, supporting a scalable social enterprise model. The project integrates biological experimentation, sustainable material sourcing, and safety considerations to address sanitation and renewable energy challenges. This process was tested (very gross), and execution would difficult, but feasible after disccusing with local non-profits and conduscting therough research.
