A new process uses bacteria to filter wastewater while creating electricity.

«Why is it waste?» asked Zhen (Jason) He, professor in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.

«It’s organic materials,» He said, and those can provide energy in a number of ways. Then there’s the other valuable resource in wastewater.

Water.

He’s lab has developed one system that recovers both, filtering wastewater while creating electricity. Results from bench-scale trials were published May 6 and featured as a front cover article in the journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.

The waste materials in wastewater are full of organic materials which, to bacteria, are food.

Story Source: Materials provided by Washington University in St. Louis. Original written by Brandie Jefferson. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.