Hydrogen production from Winery Wastewater

University Park, PA -- The first demonstration of a renewable method for hydrogen production from wastewater using a microbial electrolysis system is underway at the Napa Wine Company in Oakville. The refrigerator-sized hydrogen generator will take winery wastewater, and using bacteria and a small amount of electrical energy, convert the organic material into hydrogen, according to a Penn State environmental engineer.

"This is a demonstration to prove we can continuously generate renewable hydrogen and to study the engineering factors affecting the system performance," said Bruce E. Logan, Kappe professor of environmental engineering.

"The hydrogen produced will be vented except for a small amount that will be used in a hydrogen fuel cell." Eventually, Napa Wine Company would like to use the hydrogen to run vehicles and power systems.

Napa Wine Company's wastewater comes from cleaning equipment, grape disposal, wine making and other processes. The company already has on-site wastewater treatment and recycling and the partially treated water from the microbial electrolysis system will join other water for further treatment and use in irrigation.

"It is nice that Napa Wine Company offered up their winery and facilities to test this new approach," said Logan. "We chose a winery because it is a natural tourist attraction. People go there all the time to experience wine making and wine, and now they can also see a demonstration of how to make clean hydrogen gas from agricultural wastes."

The demonstration microbial electrolysis plant is a continuous flow system that will process about 1,000 liters of wastewater a day. Microbial electrolysis cells consist of two electrodes immersed in liquid. Logan uses electrode pairs consisting of one carbon anode and one stainless steel cathode in his system rather than an electrode coated with a precious metal like platinum or gold.

Replacing precious metals will keep down costs. The wastewater enters the cell where naturally occurring bacteria convert the organic material into electrical current. If the voltage produced by the bacteria is slightly increased, hydrogen gas is produced electrochemically on the stainless steel cathode.

The demonstration plant is made up of 24 modules. Each module has six pairs of electrodes.

"The composition of the wastewater will change throughout the year," said Logan. "Now it is likely to be rather sugary, but later it may shift more toward the remnants of the fermentation process."

The bacteria that work in the electrolysis cells will consume either of these organic materials.

Source: http://www.psu.edu/

Dr. Jaehong Kim receives WERF Busch Award

Alexandria, VA -- The Water Environment Research Foundation’s Endowment for Innovation in Applied Water Quality Research presented its Paul L. Busch Award to Jaehong Kim, Ph.D., today, during its annual subscriber luncheon at WEFTEC.09 in Orlando, FL. This $100,000 award will support Kim’s efforts to develop a new technology that harnesses the limitless power of sunlight in order to improve onsite water and wastewater treatment systems.

Dr. Kim is an associate professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he and his research team are adapting materials originally developed for laser optics, called upconversion phosphors, to create a cost-effective coating that converts sunlight into germicidal UV radiation.

In addition to the benefits the technology could provide to existing onsite water and wastewater treatment processes, it could also improve the drinking water process of sunlight disinfection (SODIS), which has been a true lifesaver in developing countries. Each year, the lack of infrastructure in developing nations hinders the availability of pathogen-free water, resulting in 1.8 million deaths per year from diarrhea alone.

By coating the surface of the containers used for SODIS with the upconversion material, Kim hopes to drastically improve the process’s efficiency and reduce the long exposure times required. Kim also envisions using these materials to develop antibacterial surfaces, which would prevent microbial growth when in the presence of white light.

Kim joined Georgia Tech in 2002 and is a recipient of various awards, including the Excellence in Research Award by the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech, the Excellence in Review Award from Environmental Science & Technology magazine, and the Editor’s Award from ASCE’s Journal of Environmental Engineering.

Kim is also an active teacher and mentor. In recognition of his devotion to teaching, he received the CETL/BP Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award from Georgia Tech in 2007.

The annual Paul L. Busch Award is one of the largest in the water quality industry. Now in its ninth year, the award supports researchers imbued with the visionary spirit of its namesake, a leader in the water quality community who challenged engineers and scientists to devise new technologies and solutions for addressing ongoing water quality issues.

Recent recipients are already addressing many of the growing concerns of today’s communities, such as maintaining healthy waters and improving energy efficiency. Past awards are supporting groundbreaking research on the effective removal of endocrine disrupting compounds in waste streams, the creation of self-sustaining wastewater treatment facilities by using microbial fuel cells, and the fate of nanomaterials in wastewater treatment systems.

The WERF Endowment for Innovation in Applied Water Quality Research presents the Paul L. Busch Award each year at WEFTEC, the Water Environment Federation’s technical exhibition and conference.

Source: http://www.werf.org/

Alexandria, VA -- A total of 17,722 water professionals and 995 exhibitors attended WEFTEC.09, the Water Environment Federation’s (WEF) 82nd annual technical exhibition and conference, last week in Orlando, FL. This year’s strong showing reinforces the importance of WEFTEC for promoting information and technology exchange among water professionals and as an invaluable venue for business opportunities in the water quality field.

"As always, this year's exhibition was very well attended and was a great forum for identifying business opportunities and generating new leads," said Kevin Marsh, Vice President of Flow Sales with the Hach Company. “Hall traffic was brisk and we were pleased to see an increased number of senior-level professionals visit our booth, many of which showed serious interest in our products.”

“We know there’s a recession out there and it has not passed us by,” added WEF Executive Director Bill Bertera. “But this year’s numbers are a strong indication that WEFTEC is where people come to do business...to learn about the latest developments and research in the water quality field. We will continue to meet the needs of our members and the water profession...especially as municipal and private sector revenues are challenged by the economy.”

To that end, last week’s conference featured a high-quality technical program of 122 technical sessions, 31 workshops, nine facility tours, and several high profile events. Of particular interest to attendees was a special session featuring Peter Silva, the new Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water.

Mr. Silva discussed his priorities for EPA’s water program, the status of stimulus funding for water infrastructure, and the Obama Administration’s agenda for the national water program. Other popular sessions and workshops included in-depth topics such as private sewer system management, innovative applications of the small-scale use of reclaimed water, water infrastructure investment, recent developments in membrane bioreactor technology, and improved energy efficiency for wastewater treatment plants and processes.

At Monday’s well-attended Opening General Session, keynote presenter Dr. Mike Magee gave an insightful presentation about the nexus between access to potable water and public health. Referencing his book, "Healthy Waters: What Every Health Professional Should Know About Water", Magee highlighted the facts and figures about water and its enormous impact on quality of life and public health. He also thanked the water professionals in attendance for their invaluable service to the community and encouraged collaboration between to the two professions.

“It is my hope that in addressing this complex issue together, we will broaden the social context of health, engage health partners in water management and planning, and advance health as the leading edge of human development,” he said.

Other opening session highlights included remarks from 2008-2009 WEF President Rebecca West, recognition of two of WEF’s most prestigious awards, and the introduction of the 2009 Stockholm Junior Water Prize winners.

On Tuesday, West ceremoniously “passed the gavel” of Federation leadership to incoming President Paul Freedman and inducted the 2009-2010 WEF Officers and Board of Trustees. The ceremony culminated with the remaining awards presentations in recognition of the outstanding achievements of the most talented and dedicated professionals in the water quality community. In all, over 25 awards were presented at various events during the four-day conference.

Recognized as the largest water quality event in North America and largest annual water quality exhibition in the world, planning for WEFTEC 2010 is currently underway. Scheduled for October 2-6, 2010 in New Orleans, LA, the Call for Abstracts is now open and more than 700 companies have already reserved over 90% of floor space at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

Source: http://www.weftec.org/

. Sandia : Algae to Energy Algae can be grown in nutrient-loaded wastewater from municipal and agricultural sources and converted to biofuel.

Micro-90 extends life of WWTP filter membranes
Micro-90 is a mild, yet powerful, alkaline cleaner that has long been used in laboratories, industrial applications, and critical cleaning processes.
 

Measuring chlorine gas in municipal water systems Fluid Components' GF90 Gas Flow Meter provides accurate, reliable measurement in chlorinated water disinfection systems.

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People post their requests for help and offer their suggestions to others in our open forum.

Mr. Marsch wants help with MBP sizing:

Veolia use a system called Minimum Biosludge Production (MBP). It works very well removing 50/70% of BOD before reaching the activated sludge plant. No RAS is sent to the MBP chamber and only rejoins the system in a selector prior to and ASP unit.

Therefore I assume it is new growth bacteria in log phase that is removing the BOD. Under the microscope there are next to no flocs, some higher life, and lots of dispersed bacteria. Pretty much what you would expect.

My question is, when sizing such a unit how would you work out the F:M and nutrient requirements? You are constantly growing fresh bacteria, so how do you know how much is in the system? Do the same equations apply, or is the load artificially high for a specific reason?
  (Click here to post a reply)

Regards
Alistair Marsh
Sinquiver Ltda.

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This week's photo is of a nitrification basin of the City of Moorhead, MN with nearly 1000 m3 of the Headworks Bio ActiveCell™ media carriers. The MBBR process is treating 6 mgd prior to chlorination and discharge into the Red River of the North. The Nitrification basin was designed to meet the new ammonia-nitrogen effluent limits.

Photo courtesy by Headworks Bio

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