Landscape Architect Articles

Technologies to Obtain Renewable Energy from Wastewater07-20-09 | News

Technologies to Obtain Renewable Energy from Wastewater

Promising new technologies to generate clean, renewable forms of energy, such as electricity and hydrogen, during the treatment of wastewater were highlighted at the Sixteenth Annual NWRI Clarke Prize Lecture and Award Ceremony, held by the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) of Fountain Valley, California in early July, in Newport Beach, California.

Logan?EUR??,,????'?????<

He pointed out that 4 to 5 percent of the electricity produced in the United States is used to power water infrastructure. In California alone, 19 percent of the state?EUR??,,????'?????<

The Clarke Prize Lecture was given by environmental biotechnologist Bruce E. Logan, Ph.D., Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University, who was selected as the 2009 NWRI Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize recipient for outstanding achievement in water science and technology.

One way to attain energy sustainability, suggests Logan, is to exploit a previously unused energy source: the organic matter (or, decaying compounds) present in various domestic, animal, and food wastewaters. According to Logan, the energy that can be harvested from organic matter in wastewaters is estimated to be equal to the electrical energy currently used for our water infrastructure.

During the lecture, Logan discussed three technologies his laboratory is researching that use natural bacteria to break down organic matter during the treatment of wastewater, producing both electricity and treated effluent. These bioreactor technologies include:

Microbial fuel cells (for bioelectricity production).
Microbial electrolysis cells (for hydrogen or methane production).
Microbial desalination cells (to remove salts from water without the need for electricity).

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Microbial desalination cells (MDCs) ?EUR??,,????'?????<

As these are emerging technologies, it is yet unknown how efficient and economical they will be for wastewater treatment and energy production. Therefore, noted Logan, it is critical that we continue to research and develop them in our efforts to explore new methods for water conservation and treatment. The current water infrastructure in the United States is aging; maintaining and replacing it with treatment technologies that can self-generate energy should be a goal to reduce the energy and costs of operating wastewater treatment plants.

Logan is the sixteenth recipient of the NWRI Clarke Prize. He has taught courses in water and wastewater treatment at Penn State since 1997. He also established and directs the Penn State Hydrogen Energy (H2E) Center, which is dedicated to developing and promoting the use of hydrogen-based technologies.

The Clarke Prize was established by NWRI in 1993 to recognize outstanding research scientists who have demonstrated excellence in water-science research and technology. Named after NWRI?EUR??,,????'?????< www.nwri-usa.org.

National Water Research Institute