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Page added on March 12, 2014
Stanford Researcher Turns Wastewater Into Energy That Can Power Treatment Plants
A Stanford engineer has developed a way for sewage treatment plants to power themselves by taking the waste out of wastewater and turning it into energy.
“We’re converting the ammonia in the wastewater to nitrous oxide gas,” said Yaniv Scherson, the Stanford researcher who created the process.
Nitrogen is found in ammonia, which naturally occurs in urine, and when it is released back into the water stream it can kill ecosystems.
“[When] discharged into a water body, it causes what’s called a ‘dead zone’,” explained Scherson.
His process pumps oxygen into ammonia and turns it into nitrous oxide. You probably know of the gas’s other applications: laughing gas at the dentist, a race car driver’s secret weapon, and rocket fuel.
“That is not done anywhere else in the world, so this is a game-changer in our industry,” said Gary Darling, General Manager of Delta Diablo Sanitation District, which is where Scherson is completing a pilot program.
The process could eventually power 5 to 10 percent of Delta Diablo’s Antioch facility, which treats 13 million gallons of wastewater a day.
Eventually, researchers hope the process can be refined enough to create new wastewater plants that are energy self-sufficient.
7 Comments on "Stanford Researcher Turns Wastewater Into Energy That Can Power Treatment Plants"
MSN fanboy on Wed, 12th Mar 2014 1:59 am
Too little Too late, FFS who is going to pay???
andya on Wed, 12th Mar 2014 2:59 am
Could just use that nitrogen as a fertiliser. They started doing it at my nearest town 6 months ago. It used to really stink, but they seem to have got the smell sorted. Now it just smells mildly like a public toilet. They are probably only using a tiny fraction of the waste, and the hay cannot be fed to animals going to slaughter. Even so it’s a system that has far more potential then this boondoggle. Nutrient cycling is critical for the future of food production. Flushing nutrients out to sea, or burning them to keep the lights on, is suicide by other means.
Davy, Hermann, MO on Wed, 12th Mar 2014 1:07 pm
I have watched documentaries that question using waste disposal plants sludge on farm fields considering all the heavy metals, PPM bio stuff, and PPM chemicals. Power generation I think is a great idea for these plants. We will need functioning waste disposal in the decent. It is one of those must have basic infrastructures. I again urge the many small but significant niche efforts at being more efficient and producing energy. Is this going to change the world no, but 1000’s of these effort will make a difference in the coming decent.
kervennic on Wed, 12th Mar 2014 5:25 pm
I pee and shit in my garden and feed dish water to the chicken. Why on hell should I pay a Stanford researcher for such a srewed up research ?
I have been physicist myself, i know those animals, they are just interested in drinking coffe all day and spending their time travelling for conferences.
Davy, Hermann, MO on Wed, 12th Mar 2014 5:34 pm
Good for you Kervennic, you are the future! I have not got to the point where I compost my dung and collect my wee but it will not be long. We will need all sources of fertilizer once the great contraction starts.
J-Gav on Wed, 12th Mar 2014 8:58 pm
I’m with you, Kervennic, on a local scale – but try that out in a megapole of 20 million people and the results might not be too great …
Wastewater Bid on Fri, 14th Mar 2014 7:51 am
all points are important It helps reduce current treatment costs or sewer charges.