wastewater

GE, others invest in wastewater bioreactor

General Electric, NRG Energy, and ConocoPhillips, through their joint venture firm, have invested in a new kind of wastewater treatment technology.

They're backing Israel-based Emefcy, developer of the Megawatter System, which uses bacteria to turn a regular wastewater treatment plant into an electricity-producing bioreactor that produces both clean water and electricity.

The electrogenic bioreactor draws on organic matter in the wastewater to supply microbial fuel cells (MFCs). It uses the electrogenic bacteria Shewanella, Geobacter, and Rhodoferax as catalysts to decompose the glutens in the water.

The Megawatter System is not built as a standalone plant, but is actually a … Read more

On World Water Day, a look at water-energy tech

A competition held by nonprofit ImagineH2O highlights the close connection between water and energy.

ImagineH2O, a not-for-profit company formed to foster innovation around water, last week announced that the three winners to its Water-Energy Nexus Prize, a competition for the best business ideas to reduce the energy needed to move and treat fresh water and wastewater. Winners out of the more than 50 participants were awarded $100,000 in cash and in-kind services.

The top prize went to Hydrovolts, a Seattle-based company that makes a hydrokinetic turbine designed specifically for manmade canals. Flowing water turns adjustable wings to generate electricity. … Read more

Micromidas to test sludge-to-plastic tech

Later this year, start-up Micromidas plans to test how well an army of microbes can convert sludge from wastewater treatment plants into a biodegradable plastic.

The Sacramento, Calif.-based company, which raised $3.6 million last month in series A venture funding, expects to start pilot testing a waste-to-plastic machine at its labs within a month. Then in about five months it hopes to take that biorefinery, which can fit in a shipping container, to a wastewater treatment plant, said CEO and founder John Bissell.

Because it's still early in development, the company doesn't know how much the … Read more

Wastewater-to-fertilizer plant captures nutrients

Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies later this week will dedicate a system that converts wastewater from sewage-treatment plants into fertilizer while recycling valuable phosphorus and nitrogen.

On Thursday, the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) in Suffolk, Va., will host the official opening of the facility, the second commercial-scale plant to use Ostara's technology. Long-time clean water advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is an investor in the company through his involvement with VantagePoint Venture Partners, will be a speaker at the event.

Because of environmental regulations, some wastewater treatment plants separate nutrients using bacteria to prevent them from being discharged … Read more