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Wastewater
Microbial Fuel Cells turn on the Juice
 St.
Louis, MO -- The combination of beer, wastewater, microbes,
fuel cells, high school students and teachers sounds like a
witches' brew for an old-fashioned, illicit '60s beach
party.
Instead, these are the components
that comprise the heart and soul of a new high school
science curriculum being developed by researchers at
Washington University in St. Louis and a couple of St. Louis
area high school teachers.
Lars Angenent, Ph.D., assistant
professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering,
has received a $400,000 Career grant from the National
Science Foundation to develop microbial fuel cell (MFC) kits
and an accompanying booklet of physics, chemistry and
biology lessons that pertain to the cell. In addition,
Angenent will make the kits available to high school science
teachers everywhere as an exciting, visual, hands-on way to
teach science. As part of the grant, he will be working with
Victoria L. May, assistant dean for science outreach in Arts
& Sciences and director of the university's Science Outreach
program.
 Watch
a video interview with Dr. Argenent
click here now.
Using MFC technology, Angenent
is treating wastewater donated by local brewery
Anheuser-Busch, and in so doing creating electricity in a
six-liter device a bit bigger than a large thermos. He uses
a mixed medium containing thousands of organisms and
optimizes environmental conditions to select for a bacterial
community with improved electron transfer in anode biofilms,
thereby increasing the electron transfer rate. In addition,
he plans to work with a single-culture biofilm to allow a
full understanding of how to use operating conditions to
manipulate electron transfer in anode chambers.
"Anheuser-Busch is supporting us
not with money, but with wastewater, of which they have an
ample supply," said Angenent. "They're very happy to be
working with us because they have a keen interest in
biofuels and bioenergy.
"As a teaching tool, the MFC can
enable the teaching of physics, chemistry and biology, all
the while making the science exciting. Students will
actually be able to see the electricity their MFC is
creating. If their MFC is being fed bacteria and sugars
correctly, it will turn a light-emitting diode on. Imagine
the excitement of that."
Angenent said that MFC
technology offers advantages for converting waste to energy
because the microbial fuel cells can operate using the
dilute organic waste streams typical of domestic wastewater
treatment plants and at low temperatures.
Angenent uses a carbon-based
fiber on which biofilm grows, allowing him to connect two
electrodes in the anode and cathode chambers with a
conductive wire.
In a hydrogen fuel cell, a
membrane separates the anode and cathode chambers. When
hydrogen meets the anode electrode, it splits into protons
and electrons, sending protons across the membrane to the
cathode chamber and sending electrons over the wire between
electrodes to create a current.
Oxygen is added to the cathode
chamber, and on the electrode there is a reaction of
electron proton and oxygen to form water. Catalysts, such as
platinum, are needed on both electrodes to promote the
reactions.
"We are doing basically the same
thing as is done in a hydrogen fuel cell with our microbial
fuel cell," Angenent said. "We've found that the bacteria on
the anode electrode can act as the catalyst instead of
platinum."
The lab classes will be
conducted on the university campus, providing high school
students from underachieving schools to visit and learn
about the opportunities in higher education as well as to do
hands-on learning, Angenent said. With the experience from
the on-campus classes, kits will be developed that will
allow extension of the hands-on learning to other high
schools.
"We want to make the kits and
curriculum available to a larger network beyond our Outreach
connections," Angenent said. "This way a rural school miles
away from a university can still use the kits and concepts."
Source:
http://www.wustl.edu/
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This
newsletter is sponsored by:
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Veolia Water Acquires TETRA
Process Services
 HOUSTON,
TX -- Veolia Water North America's Process Solutions/Texas,
LLC (Process Solutions) has purchased substantially all of
the assets of Tetra Process Services LC, a subsidiary of
TETRA Technologies, Inc., in a cash transaction.
With revenues of approximately
$20 million, Tetra Process Services primarily serves
large-scale Gulf Coast and Caribbean refineries. Terms of
the agreement were not disclosed.
Tetra Process Services provides
wastewater and oily residuals separation and water reuse
services to the refining and oil and gas exploration market
sectors through on-site processing facilities. The company
applies various technologies to separate water and oil for
reuse, and reuse organic solids captured during processes in
refinery or cement kiln operations.
"Tetra Process Services
represents a strong strategic and complementary fit, in
terms of product portfolio offerings, customers, geographic
locations and culture," said Joe Burgess, president and CEO
of Veolia Water North America. "The Tetra business
expands our water, wastewater and recycling treatment
services capability, as well as our scope of opportunities.
In the same breath, it reinforces our focus on quality,
safety and value-added solutions through the treatment and
recovery of wastewater in the oil and gas industry."
Steve Hopper, vice president and
general manager, will continue to lead Process Solutions.
TETRA is an oil and gas services
company, including an integrated calcium chloride and
brominated products manufacturing operation that supplies
feedstocks to energy markets, as well as other markets.
Process Solutions provides
state-of-the-art wastewater processing, by-product recovery,
reuse, recycle and chemical production technologies to the
refining, chemical and related industries. The company owns
various proprietary technologies that are at the core of
innovative services to industries including oil and gas,
chemical and mining.
Source:
http://www.veoliawaterna.com/ |
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AWWA Opens Registration For
ACE08
 Denver,
CO -- Registration is now open for the American Water Works
Association's 2008 Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE08).
The world's water community will gather in Atlanta June 8-12
to explore the future of safe water, gain knowledge of and
insight into cutting-edge research and best practices, and
experience the latest products and services available to the
water community.
ACE08,
to be held at the Georgia World Congress Center, will
feature a professional program consisting of approximately
90 sessions, comprising more than 500 presentations given by
some 1,000 experts in the water industry, plus 14 in-depth
workshops.
Topics
covered will include climate change, conservation, water
resources management, legislative and regulatory issues and
public affairs. ACE08 attendees will have the opportunity to
earn contact hours for the Distribution & Plant Operations,
Manufacturers/Associates, Small Systems & Water Quality
tracks; most Sunday Workshops; and facility tours.
The
ACE08 Exposition will feature more than 500 exhibitors
showcasing the latest products and services available to
help ensure safe water. These exhibitors will offer expert
insight and hands-on understanding for everything from pipes
to valves, meters to hydrants, engineering services to
tank-related companies, membrane filtration systems to
laboratory equipment, and security to wastewater. The New
Product Technology Showcase will return to highlight the
newest and most innovative products and technology
available.
ACE08
also will offer unique events focused on sections, diversity
issues, young professionals, students, sustainable water
sources for developing countries, public officials,
international attendees and first-time attendees. The annual
and always entertaining Pipe-Tapping Contest, Top Ops
Competition, Meter Madness and the “Best of the Best” Water
Taste Test will be held as well.
Source:
http://www.awwa.org/ace08/
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Hydro International's
Largest Grit-Removal System Order
 PORTLAND,
ME -- Hydro International, a leading provider of
environmentally sustainable products and innovative
solutions that control and treat stormwater, wastewater
and combined sewer overflows, today announced the
receipt of its largest contract for grit-removal systems
ever, a $1.8 million deal with the City of Clearwater,
Fla.
Hydro will supply the Gulf
Coast city with five Grit King® advanced hydrodynamic
separator units to upgrade the grit-removal processes at
two of Clearwater's three wastewater treatment plants.
The 12-foot diameter Grit King units will replace the
existing high-energy vortex grit removal systems at the
plants.
The purchase came as part of
a larger initiative to upgrade the headworks at
Clearwater's Marshall Street and East Advanced Pollution
Control Facilities.
The city was looking for
improved performance and increased reliability, and
after conducting pilot testing with the Grit King units
and development of a system design that could be
retrofitted into the city's existing headworks, we
determined that this solution more than meets the plants
needs, said Thomas Friedrich, P.E., at Jones Edmunds &
Associates, of Tampa, Fla., the engineering firm
representing the city.
During the design phase of
the plant improvement project, Hydro drove a Grit King
mobile pilot unit to Clearwater and participated in a
head-to-head trial with one of the existing high-energy
vortex systems at the Marshall Street plant. The data
showed the Grit King removing up to 23 times the grit as
the existing system.
The Grit King is an advanced
hydrodynamic separator that augments gravitational
forces to separate grit from water. It removes more grit
than conventional systems, making it an economical
choice for new or existing municipal or industrial
wastewater applications. Because it has no moving parts
and no external power source, the Grit King requires
significantly less maintenance than conventional
grit-removal systems.
"We are extremely proud the
City of Clearwater has seen the value Hydro
International's Grit King provides in terms of
grit-removal efficiency," said Neil Raymond, Hydro's
general manager of wastewater operations. "Grit that is
not captured in the process degrades the machinery in a
wastewater treatment plant at an alarming rate.
Clearwater's investment in new equipment and new
processes shows a level of foresight that will serve
constituents well."
Web site:
http://www.hydrointernational.biz/
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Water
and Wastewater : Featured Videos
Share
your videos with everyone, promote your plant, your
product and your company, free. Industry-related
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over 200,000+ times in our Video Center since February.
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| Help Forum :
Hot Messages from the Help Forum
People post their requests
for help and offer their suggestions to others in our open
forum.
Mr. Samuels needs help, now, for grease treatment:
I am looking for an efficient
way of treating grease from septage haulers!
I tried introducing it into
my digester and it clogged by filter press. I tried staining
it through a screen dumpster and it clogged lines.
There has to be a better way! (Click
here to post a reply)
Thank you,
Jeremy Samuels
SevernTrent Services
jsamuels@stes.com
Mr. Markey wants to know where
the "solids" went:
We operate a small activated
sludge plant that services 80 residences.
The plant has operated almost
flawlessly until about 3 years ago it would mysteriously
lose all its solids? We would reseed the plant and it
would be back to normal. However, when the facility
was sold to a relative or the former owner, what used to
happen once per year became the norm.
We have absolutely no solids!
Nothing in the returns, oxidation ditch, filters, or
outfall? It is simply gone! We reseed and after awhile
they too disappear.
This is a plant connected to
80 homes and no businesses. Our pH which was always
7.0-7.5 is all over the place. I suspect a toxic load,
but where would the solids go? (Click
here to post a reply)
Thanks,
T. Markey
t.markey@att.net
Help Forum:
Share your
expertise with others in our
Help
Forum. |
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| From the Job
Fair: Part-Time
Construction Dewatering - Atlanta, GA
Interested in part-time
assistance with a Construction Dewatering system in Atlanta,
Georgia? The hours will be minimal, and flexible. If you are
employed full-time or part-time in the greater Atlanta area
and would like to earn some extra income, you are invited to
apply.
Requires a minimum Class 3
Georgia Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators Certificate.
The system consists of a number of wellpoints to dewater a
construction site in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, Fulton
County, GA : a settling tank, an air stripper, baffles, a
chemical feed for pH control, sampling point and flowmeter.
Construction company
personnel will be onsite and can note any problems and deal
with routine daily maintenance, observation and malfunction
issues. Duties would include a minimum once a week site
visit to check systems are in order, collect effluent
samples, complete chain-of-custody paperwork and package
samples in a cooler with ice for transport to a laboratory.
Depending on your location,
we may have you transport the samples to the lab, to our
office, or a location to be picked up by courier.
Compensation is negotiable and can vary by the exact number
of hours and scope. Let us know where you are and see if we
can make it worth your while!
For more information contact:
Mr. Peter T. Kallay
Atlanta Environmental Consultants
Kennesaw, Georgia
Telephone: 678-738-7004
Fax: 678-738-7005
Email
AtlantaEnviro@cs.com
The Job Fair:
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Do you have a position
you need to fill? Visit the Job
Fair. |
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| About Us :
Water and Wastewater Newsletter
© 1999-2008 Water and Wastewater.com
Home page: http://www.waterandwastewater.com
Joseph Taylor, Editor
Water and Wastewater Newsletter
3948 South Third Street, No. 121
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Email: jtaylor@waterandwastewater.com
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Please submit articles via e-mail, only to: news@waterandwastewater.com |
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::
Microbial Fuel Cells turn on
the Juice
::
Veolia Water Acquires TETRA
Process Services
::
AWWA Opens Registration
For ACE08
::
Hydro International's Largest
Grit
Removal System Order
:: The News Center : More headlines
:: The Water and Wastewater Blog
:: Video Center
:: Help Forum
::
Water and Wastewater Plant
Directory : Featured Plant
:: The Job Fair
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:: Ask Tom! Column!
:: 177,000+ visitors in December !
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:: About Us
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| Hi Everyone,
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year everyone, hope
you had a great holiday with your loved ones.
Updates and software
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issuing our weekly newsletter this year, we have been making
"updates" to our server. Some of which required
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we are up and running and have some interesting news for you
this week.
10th Anniversary
This is our 10th year in
business, we hope you have enjoyed the first ten years of
Water and Wastewater.com, both the web site and newsletter.
Its been fun and exciting. We look forward to spending the
next 10 years with you!
With over 9,700+ subscribers,
our goal is to provide information
to improve your business by using the resources available on the
Internet.
Thanks,
Joe Taylor, Editor
jtaylor@waterandwastewater.com
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| This
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Featured
Case History |
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MBR System in The Great White North
Due to the growing tourism industry in British
Columbia, Cultus Country Resort, located just 60
miles east of Vancouver, is in need of wastewater
treatment. For water systems and utilities company
Corix, an opportunity to build and operate a
wastewater treatment plant in their native Canada
was too good to turn down. Corix has extensive
experience in the water treatment industry and has
now turned its interests to designing, building, and
operating their own MBR plants in Canada....(more) |
More case histories...
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Photographs
This week's
photo is of a Headworks, Spiralman, dual-cleaning system
providing high-flow capacity and redundancy. Headworks
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the sieve and transport spiral are always the same size
throughout.
Submitted by
Headworks, Inc.
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