SBIR Phase I: Enhanced Anaerobic Digestion of Wastewater Using Bioelectrodes

SBIR一期项目将开发一种厌氧消化系统，该系统利用生物电极更有效地将废水转化为沼气并最终转化为能源。 近年来，随着能够以高速率将电子传递到电极和从电极传递电子的生电微生物的发现，生物电化学系统受到了极大的关注。到目前为止，大多数研究都集中在利用这些过程在燃料电池类设备产生电力或氢气。在这个项目中，IntAct将建立和展示一个简化的过程，增强厌氧消化的基础上添加电极和直接施加电压到AD室。由此产生的专有系统利用外加电压来调节电极上的产电微生物的生长，从而克服了甲烷生产的热力学限制，并实现pH值控制。拟议项目的更广泛/商业影响将是从废水处理过程中回收更多能量的能力。

This SBIR Phase I project will develop an anaerobic digestion system which utilizes bio-electrodes to more efficiently convert wastewater into biogas and ultimately energy. Bio-electrochemical systems have received significant attention in recent years with the discovery of electricigen microbes capable of transferring electrons to and from electrodes at high rates. To date, most research has focused on using these processes in fuel-cell-like devices to produce electricity or hydrogen. In this project, IntAct will build and demonstrate a simplified process for enhanced anaerobic digestion based on adding electrodes and applying voltage directly into an AD chamber. The resulting proprietary system makes use of an applied voltage to modulate the growth of electricigen microbes on electrodes thus overcoming thermodynamic limitations to methane production and enabling pH control.The broader/commercial impact of the proposed project will be the ability to recover increased amounts of energy from the wastewater treatment process.