title: Domestic wastewater treatment as a net energy producer--can this be achieved?
abstract: In seeking greater sustainability in water resources management, wastewater is now being considered more as a resource than as a waste-a resource for water, for plant nutrients, and for energy. Energy, the primary focus of this article, can be obtained from wastewater's organic as well as from its thermal content. Also, using wastewater's nitrogen and P nutrients for plant fertilization, rather than wasting them, helps offset the high energy cost of producing synthetic fertilizers. Microbial fuel cells offer potential for direct biological conversion of wastewater's organic materials into electricity, although significant improvements are needed for this process to be competitive with anaerobic biological conversion of wastewater organics into biogas, a renewable fuel used in electricity generation. Newer membrane processes coupled with complete anaerobic treatment of wastewater offer the potential for wastewater treatment to become a net generator of energy, rather than the large energy consumer that it is today.
authors: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, 473 Via Ortega MC 4020, Stanford, California 94305, United States. pmccarty@stanford.edu
authors: Perry L
authors: PL
authors: McCarty
authors: Jaeho
authors: J
authors: Bae
authors: Jeonghwan
authors: J
authors: Kim
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D019149:Bioreactors; D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources / Q000379:methods*; D004560:Electricity; D012722:Sewage; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage