Membranes for Wastewater-Generated Hydrogen and Clean Water
Waste streams often contain unutilized resources that if properly extracted or otherwise utilized could be used to provide additional sources of renewable energy or other benefits. Wastewater is one of the primary candidate waste streams because of its nutrient content and researchers have been developing technologies such as microbial fuel cells and algal-based biofuel production in order make use of these nutrients. Researchers at the University of Minnesota are using this appropriation to develop, test, and optimize another new technology that can be used to extract energy from wastewater, specifically a polymer membrane embedded with select bacteria that could be used to simultaneously improve wastewater treatment while generating renewable energy in the form of hydrogen. If effective the technology is likely to be scalable with broad application potential for use with any biodegradable liquid waste stream.
$246,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to develop, optimize, and test membranes made of thin film polymers embedded with selected bacteria to generate clean water and energy in the form of hydrogen from wastewater. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2016, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Click on Work Plan under Project Details.
Click on Work Plan under Project Details.