Microbial Fuel Cell Can Clean Sewage While It Generates Electricity
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 - 19:50
in Physics & Chemistry
A device the size of a home washing machine uses bacteria growing in municipal sewage to make electricity - also and clean up the sewage at the same time. Current wastewater treatment technology involves a number of steps designed to separate the solid and liquid components of sewage and clean the wastewater before it is released into a waterway. This often involves settling tanks, macerators that break down larger objects, membranes to filter particles, biological digestion steps and chemicals that kill harmful microbes. One estimate puts their energy use at 2 percent of overall consumption in the U.S. read more