Microbial Battery Cleans Wastewater

A team of US researchers have found a cost effective way to use a microbial battery for cleaning up wastewater discarded during oil and gas operations

With fresh water scarcity becoming more and more of a problem as we speak, any industry that pollutes the "liquid gold" or wastes it in any way, is the first to be pointed at, and rightfully so. However, with oil and gas industry continuing to contaminatewaterwith hydrocarbons, and number of fracking sites growing exponentially around the world as we speak, wasting the already limitedfresh water resources, the pressure is put back on scientists and engineers to find an intermediate, green solution.

A team from University of Colorado Boulder took on the task and came up with a technique that not only removespollutants, but also generates energy along the way. The scientists usedmicrobesthat feed on the hydrocarbons present in thewastewater. During the feeding process, the tiny organisms release energy, which is captured and used to create amicrobialbatterywith positively and negatively charged electrodes. The electrical current is then used to remove salts from the wastewater, in a process referred to by the inventors as ‘microbialcapacitive desalination'.

Source: The Green Optimistic

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• Treatment
• Sludge Separation
• Research
• Fracking