Electricity Generated from Wastewater

Filed in archive on August 16, 2006

Researchers are studying the viability of creating electricity from microbes that are continuously fed with waste water. If this technology reaches a proven and commercially realizable point, we could see a new edge technology in power generation.

The Science Daily reports that researchers from the University of Washington in St. Louis has been working on microbial fuel cell that generates electricity from wastewater. The science behind this technology is quite simple. Wastewater contains, among other things, organic matter. This organic matter can serve as a feed stock for many bacterial reactions (there is truth to what your mother tells you about playing in dirty water). If an electrode is placed within the a system where bacteria can develop and colonize, then a fuel cell can be made. As the bacteria feeds on the organic material in the wastewater, they release electrons. These electrons are collected in the anode, which then move to the cathode (transferred through copper wires). When electrons are released and made to move, then electricity is generated.

According to current research, the present level of technology on microbial energy generation is around 160 watts per cubic meter of wastewater. The goal is to increase this power output ten times. When that happens, microbial fuel cell systems would provide households with enough renewable energy without much investment. Money and certainly energy, would then be saved from going down the drain.