Energy Neutral Wastewater Treatment : Myth Or Reality?

Microbial Fuel Cells use bacteria to convert waste into electrical energy. These bacteria break down almost any biodegradable organic waste including sewage and water waste and use it as fuel to generate power. Places like Penn State University and The Biodesign Institute in Arizona State University are already testing and improving this new alternative energy. According to Penn State University they have achieved in producing 1.5 watts per meter squared of amount of waste water taken in and believe that a large industrial plant will be able to produce near 0.8 watts per meter squared and will be able to support about 500 homes (9). This is a new technology that is being avidly researched, however it is not currently used in large

Environmental benefits from waste to energy are reduction in greenhouse gases, creation jobs, incorporating and encouraging recycling, and the preferred environmental sustainability method to waste management. According to Ecomaine (2017), “Converting the trash to energy also benefits the communities we serve by reducing its volume by 90 percent, leaving only ash to be stored at the landfill site.” (para 2). Pollution control provides

Waste treatment in London is not very energy-efficient or economical which is a cause for high taxes. An interesting alternative, in addition to recycling, is for household waste to be burned or converted to biogas to be used as a source of energy which can provide thousands of households with heat and electricity [13][14].

Baur, Richard C., et al. 2009, Investigation 7: How Can The Waste Be Made Useful?, Lab Inquiry in Chemistry. Belmont: Brooks/Cole, 2009.

Gases, oil, and fossil fuels can be replaced by feces and urine. Feces contain methane, a colorless, odorless gas that could be used in the same way as natural gas. Now, let’s not forget the urine. Scientists are looking for a way to make the world’s first urine powered fuel cells. It would be a viable way for astronauts or military personnel to produce power on the go. Those are just a few ways people could use alternative energy. Using alternative energy is simple and easy. It does not coat extra money, it saves money and energy. This is just a few easy and cheap ways to save money and use alternative energy. (http://www.altenergy.org, 2013)

Mostly, wastewaters are usually perilous and unhealthy for human beings, aquatic plants and animals in addition to responsible for the deterioration of environment so it should be treated earlier to its disposal into the aquatic medium and land surfaces. After secondary treatment of domestic and agro-industrial polluted water still discharges large amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen. Such increased percentage of nutrients leads to eutrophication of lakes, rivers, ponds and seas which also leads to augmentation of algal bloom (Lau et al., 1997; Trepanier et al., 2002) and throwing away of wastewaters produces a steady threat to fading of natural resources of fresh water on worldwide (Montaigne and Essick, 2002). Under the extreme nutrients in the wastewater, such as

The switch to clean energy in the United States and around the world is a difficult necessity that must be met within the subsequent five to six decades. The prolonged use of damaging fossil fuels and other unsustainable forms of energy are greatly damaging the planet. These sources of non-renewable energy are bound to run out in the following century. Millions of square kilometers of Arctic ice has melted so far, the sea level is rising, and the CO2 levels present in the atmosphere are drastically increasing (Chang). The transition to renewable energy must be met; however, this is not a process possible to achieve overnight. This change will require an extensive amount of resources and time but will reap many benefits to the users of this growing technology.

For over forty years now, scientists and researchers have been tirelessly searching for an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels have become an interesting contender in the search for the replacement of the non-renewable energy source. Biofuels have been used throughout history for over thousands of years. There is a large debate over biofuels and its true impact on the environment. Those involved in the discussion debating whether biofuels have any real overwhelming benefits compared to fossil fuels could argue for its usage. According to recent research performed by the University of Michigan, biofuels may not be the best alternative for fossil fuels. Regardless of its impact on the environment, biofuels are becoming more popular particularly when the price of oil rises.

If St. Paul were to switch from our conventional (separate) heating and power systems to a CHP (combined heat and power) system, immense amounts of energy could be saved and repurposed (1). A conventional system is roughly 49% efficient (lost energy due to transport, heat loss) and that a CHP system would be between 75-80% efficient (1). An improvement of 30% in our energy production would reduce emissions, costs, and the need to purchase power. This idea of a CHP is great for the large scale, but not entirely feasible for the St. Paul Campus. The director of the steam plant, Joshua Svejcar, stated that the St. Paul Campus simply does not use enough energy (5MW) for a CHP to be feasible. Another project that ought to be considered would be converting steam to hot water. This is considered “low-grade heat” and would retain more heat during transport, thus reducing waste (1). Yet another fascinating idea occurs in the Dairy Barn on the St. Paul Campus. If we implemented a biodigester which can turn waste to heat, the amount of manure and waste from the Dairy Barn would be enough to sustainably power itself (1). This would also remove large amounts of methane emissions from the St. Paul Campus (1).

In the world of global warming, all kinds of pollution and fuel shortages going on, renewable and clean/ green energy is increasingly the ideal solution of energy related problems we have to solve one way or another. Biofuel is one of the mainstream and highly supported solutions nowadays, an idea to make renewable fuel by living organisms such as fiber, corn, vegetable oil or sugar cane. Unlike nonrenewable fossil fuels over extracted by people causing various environmental problems like generating a considerable amount greenhouse gas, current technology already lets renewable fuel like biofuels to shrink a certain amount of greenhouse gas production, making it a more ‘clean’ source of energy.

This report provides analysis and evaluation of a newly designed wastewater treatment facility for Sand Valley, Nevada. Analysis will include Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) along with total, volatile, and fixed suspended solids. Methods for analysis will include the Winkler Test for BOD and a Hatch test for the suspend solids.

Activated sludge (AS) has become one of the most widely used biological wastewater treatment processes. The AS involves the transformation through metabolic processes of dissolved and suspended wastewater substrate, consisting of organic, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, to settlable biological flocs and gases. (Sanin et al., 2006; Semblante et al., 2014). These flocs containing biomass and inorganic matter are settled in secondary sedimentation chambers to produce effluent that has low suspended solids concentration. A portion of the settled sludge is returned to the beginning of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in order to maintain a desirable biomass concentration and process efficiency.

While the technology sounds promising and amazingly efficient, there are a lot of environmental issues that need to be discussed and explored in terms of its efficiency, productivity and economics. The development of green

Pollution is a major problem globally and it becomes greater as the human population continues to rise exponentially. One of the major problems with increased population is higher waste production, which creates increased air, soil, and water pollution. To resolve this problem waste reduction must be of primary importance in preventing and reducing pollution. Waste management can be an expensive undertaking if not managed correctly so sustainable practices must be addressed. While pollution prevention and reduction programs can be expensive if not managed correctly, waste reduction is essential for the reduction and prevention of pollution.

The disposal of untreated wastewater coming from the industries into the water bodies will pollute the water bodies because of its high concentrations. So, the wastewater produced from the industry should be treated properly to meet the permissible limits given by central and state pollution control boards. Therefore it is necessary to treat the wastewater properly with the help of an appropriate treatment plant. However, the treatment plant even though properly planned may not work satisfactory because of several reasons. Hence, it is essential to evaluate the treatment plant considering individual treatment unit in the entire treatment flow. In the present work emphasis has been given to the study of the performance of treatment facilities because of its importance in the conventional treatment of wastewater. Hence, the literature review related to the evaluation of the entire treatment process along with biological treatment process particularly suspended growth process Activated Sludge Process (ASP), attached growth process Trickling Filter (TF) and a combination of the both suspended and attached growth process Hybrid Reactor (HR) is presented in the following sections of this chapter.