 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 03, 2011 The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning podcast series, "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions," focuses on the discovery that household sewage has far more potential as an alternative energy source than previously thought. Scientists say the discovery, which increases the estimated potential energy in wastewater by almost 20 percent, could spur efforts to extract methane, hydrogen and other fuels from this vast and, as yet, untapped resource. Their report appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science and Technology. Elizabeth S. Heidrich of Newcastle University in the United Kingdom and colleagues note that sewage treatment plants in the United States use about 1.5 percent of the nation's electrical energy to treat 12.5 trillion gallons of wastewater a year. "Instead of just processing and dumping this water, we suggest that in the future treatment facilities could convert its organic molecules into fuels, transforming their work from an energy drain to an energy source," she said. "Based on our research, we estimate that one gallon of wastewater contains enough energy to power a 100-watt light bulb for five minutes."
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Newcastle University Bio Fuel Technology and Application News
Brewery Waste Becomes Scientific Fodder For Producing Liquid BiofuelsIthaca NY (SPX) Mar 01, 2011 Gaining new insight into how efficiently the microbes in large bioreactors produce methane from brewery waste, Cornell scientists hope to use their new knowledge to shape these microbial communities to produce liquid biofuels and other useful products. The scientists Largus T. Angenent, associate professor of biological and environmental engineering, and the first author and research assoc ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
