I-Corps: Wastewater Treatment Using Anaerobic Membranes Bioreactor with Electrolyte Regeneration

South Dakota School Of Mines And Technology, Rapid City SD

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of technology designed and developed for a world where droughts are an everyday reality, while it also offers a promising sustainability effort, as well as a smart hedge against rising costs and future shortages. The technology when scaled can provide water for irrigation, washing, and flushing in rural and remote areas with no access to central sewage systems as well as in small communities. The customer discovery activities will test the hypothesis that this technology can be used in real time by producing high quality grey water that can be reused for different purposes. Results from the project could help recovery of water resources by finding ways to reuse the treated wastewater. This I-Corps project is based on the development of wastewater stream configuration with considerably enhanced permeate flux, as it reduced the deposition of extracellular polymeric substances on the surface of the membrane, leading to a reduction in membrane fouling. Moreover, this technology for wastewater treatment with the purpose of water recovery and reuse, employs optimized operational conditions, application of antifouling membranes, and electrically based strategies. The system consists of enhancement and optimization of membrane filtration, anaerobic digestion performance, and economic feasibility offering a promising sustainability effort, as well as a smart hedge against rising costs and future shortages. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.