I-Corps: Algal-bacterial Wastewater Treatment Technology

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是有可能实现一种创新的废水处理技术，以降低成本和提高废水处理的可持续性。通过利用微生物生态学的进步和一天中的自然光波动，藻-细菌捷径脱氮工艺可以在非常低的化学和能量投入下实现完全脱氮。该技术将潜在地减少营养性污染物排放到环境中，使废水处理设施能够经济地符合现有和未来的环境法规。该技术的应用将有助于减少地表水的富营养化（藻类过度生长）和地下水的硝酸盐污染。I-Corps项目将专注于客户发现，研究如何将创新的藻类-细菌捷径脱氮技术整合到现有的废水处理工艺中。高氨强度废水由于其毒性和高曝气和化学要求，在传统的生物脱氮系统中处理是具有挑战性和昂贵的。实验室研究表明，在交替光照和黑暗周期（白天和黑夜）的顺序批式光反应器中可以完全去除铵。在光照期，通过光合作用产生的氧气刺激氨氧化细菌产生亚硝酸盐。在黑暗时期，溶解氧被迅速消耗，促进了废水中氮的去除。这项创新技术可以应用于家庭污水侧流和农业废水的处理，以降低成本、能源需求和与废水中氮去除相关的温室气体排放。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to potentially enable an innovative wastewater treatment technology to lower costs and improve the sustainability of wastewater treatment. By taking advantage of advances in microbial ecology and natural light fluctuations over the course of the day, the algal-bacterial shortcut nitrogen removal process can provide complete nitrogen removal with very low chemical and energy inputs. The technology will potentially reduce nutrient pollutant discharges to the environment, allowing wastewater facilities to economically comply with existing and future environmental regulations. Application of this technology will help reduce eutrophication (overgrowth of algae) of surface waters and nitrate contamination of groundwater.This I-Corps project will focus on customer discovery to investigate how the innovative algal-bacterial shortcut nitrogen removal technology can be potentially integrated into existing wastewater treatment processes. High ammonia strength wastewaters are challenging and costly to treat in conventional biological nitrogen removal systems due to their toxicity and high aeration and chemical requirements. Laboratory research has demonstrated that complete ammonium removal can be achieved in a sequencing batch photoreactor with alternating light and dark periods (day and night). During the light period, oxygen produced through photosynthesis stimulates nitrite production by ammonia oxidizing bacteria. During the dark period, dissolved oxygen is quickly consumed, promoting nitrogen removal from the wastewater. This innovative technology can be applied to the treatment of domestic wastewater sidestreams and agricultural wastewater to reduce the costs, energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions associated with nitrogen removal from wastewaters.