S12-308 (LM) Microbial Batteries with Re-oxidizable Solid-State Electrodes for Conversion

of Chemical Potential Energy into Electrical Energy

(inventors: Craig S Criddle, Yi Cui, Xing Xie, and Meng Ye)

Project team members: Amy Lam, Anna-Clare Milazzo, Anne-laure Cuvilliez, Guido Bordignon, Thomas Juffmann, Sunanda Marella

Waste water (l) # per day total (l) 30 1x 30 10 3x 30 0.5 6x 3 150 1/3x 50 . . . . . . . . .

Microbial batteries

Summary

Does it work?

Wastewater

Electricity

Oxidation of organic matter

Microbial fuel cell vs. microbial battery

Microbial fuel cell

Microbial battery

Potential Customers

Wastewater

Domestic

Municipal Wastewater

Home Septic Systems

Industrial

Wineries and Breweries Aquaculture Sugar Cane

Processing Many others

…

Wastewater Treatment

Energy Available

www.waterworld.com

~ 80k water/wastewater treatment plants

Energy Consumed

www.ncsafewater.org

1,200 kWh/million gallons (MG)

Average Energy Used:

• 1 MGD 2,200 kWh/MG

• 10 MGD 1,200 kWh/MG

• 50 MGD 1,000 kWh/MG

Energy Use Scales with Size

-45%

-17%

US EPA Energy Efficiency in Water and Wastewater Facilities

ASU

PSU

Onsite wastewater treatment system – Septic systems

• Conventional methods using gravity flow – no energy costs, relatively cheap, anaerobic

• 20% of U.S Homes use septic systems to treat their wastewater (EPA)

• Septic tanks need regular maintenance and lack of it leads to groundwater pollution

Potential applications for the microbial battery technology to be used in wastewater treatment in Septic systems

•Two companies Emfcy and Proningeer are scaling MFC technology to be able to use it in onsite wastewater treatment

•Using a greener technology might entail subsidies from The ARA (America Recovery Act - Kit Rosefield from California Onsite waste water association (COWA).

•Energy generation from wastewater treatment in septic tanks will be of interest in developing countries without proper access to municipal sewers and electricity

Application: Microbial batteries in aquaculture

• System types • 2004 EPA effluent guidelines • Information from “getting out of the building” step

o Pathogen removal is key problem o Modularity/easy addition

Fosters brewery & Univ. Queensland

Widmer Brothers‘ Brewery & Oregon State

Anheuser-Busch & Cornell Univ.

Conclusion – Several Issues Remain

• Additional R&D required – Cost high (materials, maintenance, labor, etc) – Efficiency low

• Regulatory Considerations

• Operational Considerations

– Existing infrastructure