The Power of

VERSATILITY
“An invention that is narrowly
focused on solving a single
problem often inadvertently
creates more problems because
nature is highly complex and
interconnected.“

Javier Fernandez-Han
Age 15
Houston, TX, USA
Ashoka and Lemelson Foundations’
2009 Invent Your World Challenge
inspired hundreds of youth around
the world to submit invention
projects that would “make life easier,
the planet greener, and the world better.”

Among them - Javier Fernandez-Han, a

15-year-old Houston teen who answered
the challenge with The VERSATILE System
- a comprehensive algae-powered
system for treating waste, producing
methane and bio-oil as fuel, producing
food for humans and livestock, and
sequestering greenhouse gases while
producing oxygen. Javier Fernandez-Han
Houston, TX, USA

Recipient of 2009
Ashoka Lemelson Excellence Award
Q If The VERSATILE System is the answer, what is the question?

What system can improve the

quality of life in a village by
providing the basic necessities of
food, sanitation, energy-fuel,
and income in an
environmentally sustainable and
technologically appropriate
fashion?
Anaerobic digester (AD)
The VERSATILE system features two
parallel anaerobic digesters-algae
troughs, one for producing “clean”
products such as food for livestock/
humans from food scraps and another
for treating sewage from the latrine
and livestock manure. Each of these
also produces carbon dioxide
(recycled to nourish the algae),
methane (stored for use as a fuel),
oxygen, and algae biomass (for
drying/pressing to extract oil or as
feedstock for the ADs).
Bio-gas Upgrader
The biogas upgrader separates the
biogas produced by the ADs into its
three main components: hydrogen
sulfide, carbon dioxide and methane.
Hydrogen sulfide is a gas highly toxic to
humans, livestock and algae. It is
neutralized by routing it through a tank
filled with composted cow manure.
Carbon dioxide, a potentially dangerous
green house gas, is dissolved in water to
become carbonic acid and directed to
nourish the algae. As a green house
gas, methane is 20 times more
damaging to the environment than
carbon dioxide. Methane is separated
from the carbon dioxide and stored
under pressure in a tank as fuel for
lighting and cooking.
Vented methane burning stoves
The stoves in the VERSATILE system
are unique because they burn
methane without polluting. A single
VERSATILE system may have
several stoves. The flame is enclosed
in a shroud to prevent carbon dioxide
from escaping and vented to direct
the carbon dioxide rich oven exhaust
into the algae bioreactor to accelerate
algae growth.
Algae bioreactors
Each of the two algae bioreactors in
the VERSATILE system use sunlight,
saltwater, carbon dioxide and
nutrients from the AD wastewater to
produce oxygen and algae biomass,
which can be used as food for
livestock and people, used as
feedstock for the AD, dried and
pressed for oil, or processed into food
supplements.
PlayPump
The PlayPump turns children’s play
into electricity which is stored in a
battery. The battery powers an air
pump in the vented stoves to direct
their exhaust gases to the algae
bioreactors. The battery can also
power small appliances such as a
radio, LED lights, or cell phone
chargers.
 For more information on The VERSATILE System
and other invention ventures, please visit
www.genvcampaigns.org

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