From Waste Streams June/July 2006
http://www.wastestreams.com.au/
UQ Research uses microbial fuels cells
Your dirty dishwater could soon be providing the electricity to power wastewater treatment plants if University of Queensland researchers have their way. The UQ team has developed a technique that removes pollutants and organic compounds from wastewater and turns them into environmentally friendly electricity. The researchers will receive $1,300,000 in funding over five years as part of the Australian Research Council's Discovery Projects Grants. PhD student Freguia from the University's Advanced Wastewater Management Centre (AWMC) said there was still more research to be carried out before the power source could be commercialised. "Our experiments have shown that the chemical energy contained in the organic matter present in wastewater can be recovered as electricity by using microbial fuel cells," he said. Microbial fuel cells are similar to common chemical fuel cells but use microbes as catalysts and can therefore untilise wastewater pollutants for energy production rather then a chemical fuel such as hydro hydrogen or methane. Mr Freguia is currently completing his PhD at UQ examining power production from wastewater using micobial fuel cells."In micobial fuel cells the electron donor is an organic substrate and bacteria are used as catalysts for it oxidation to carbon dioxide," he said. AWMC director Professor Jurg Keller said the cells should be used to generate renewable electricity to power wastewater treatment plants while at the same time removing the pollutants. "You should be able to generate sufficient energy from pollutants in wastewater to run the entire treatment process," Professor Keller said. "The technology could significantly reduce the operating cost of wastewater treatment plants." Not only is the new power source cheap and readily available, it is also environmentally friendly. "All of our power that is produced is from renewable sources - the pollutants is the wastewater," Professor Keller said. "It's all happening in a thin biofilm, a sort of slime layer on the electrode where bacteria are growing and directly producing electrical current." Professor Keller and Mr Freguia are continuing their research in to the microbial fuel cells and expect there to be early applications arising from the technology with in five years.
