Highlight Seminar: Bruce Rittmann, Arizona State University
“Wastewater and Beyond: From Treatment to Resource”
Abstract
2014 was the 100-year anniversary of the activate sludge process. While activated sludge has many benefits that have kept it at the forefront of wastewater treatment for a century, it also is very costly in terms of money and energy. New developments in anaerobic technologies are making it realistic to replace activate sludge in ways that are energy positive and also that offer the option for making “wastewater treatment” economically profitable. This talks reviews and puts into perspective anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs), microbial electrochemical cells, and selective recovery of P and N, all of which make it possible to turn wastewater from a “treatment problem” to a “resource benefit.”