I-Corps: Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor for Sustainable Wastewater Management

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the potential development of a more sustainable wastewater treatment system using anaerobic microbes. Most municipal wastewater is treated using aerobic biotechnology in which microorganisms destroy pollutants while consuming oxygen. Adding the oxygen is very expensive and can represent about 30% of the total wastewater management operating cost to run electric blowers to supply diffused air/oxygen to tanks of microbes. Anaerobic microbes also can destroy pollutants, do not require oxygen addition, and produce renewable fuel, methane, as a by-product. The biogas generated from large wastewater treatment plants using the proposed technology may be used in buildings or as bio-compressed natural gas for vehicle fuel to meet cellulosic transportation fuel goals. In addition, the proposed technology may contribute to the development of other applications, such as industrial wastewater treatment. This I-Corps project is based on the potential development of the downflow filter (DFF) anaerobic membrane bioreactor to treat municipal wastewater. The proposed technology includes buoyant media, a downflow recycle velocity of 11 m.h-1 and a polymeric tubular membrane. Previous research results showed that the DFF may provide high organic removal rates (95%) of low-strength wastewater at low ambient temperature and may be an effective alternative for municipal wastewater treatment. Additionally, the energy requirement can be lower than in other treatment systems. The preliminary results also show the proposed technology may treat municipal wastewater and attain water characteristics to safely discharge clean water to lakes and rivers while producing methane gas to use as a renewable energy source. Target customers may include large municipal wastewater treatment plants where facilities planning for future upgrades is under consideration. It may be that small wastewater treatment plants, treatment plants not performing facility planning or other customers (e.g., small package plant applications, highway rest-stops, cruise ships, and industrial wastewater plants) may benefit also.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.