May 3, 2021
A team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) received a nearly $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to create renewable fuel from sewage sludge, a byproduct of wastewater treatment that creates greenhouse gases and water pollution when dumped into landfills. With the U.S. EPA reporting that Americans alone are putting more than 2 billion pounds of sewage sludge into landfills every year, researchers see an opportunity to keep much of that sludge out of landfills and use it to create energy, power the wastewater treatment process, and potentially supplement municipalities’ power grids.
Michael Timko, associate professor of chemical engineering and principal investigator on the three-year grant, is leading a team to develop an on-site operation that uses hydrothermal processes, high temperatures and pressure, and inexpensive catalysts to turn sewage sludge—and the energy and carbon contained in it—into natural gas. Since the the DOE reports that the energy in wastewater entering treatment facilities is five times greater than the energy needed to treat it, recovering that trapped energy on-site will enable treatment plants to replace or supplement purchased energy sources. In addition, nitrates and phosphates extracted during the new process can be used in agriculture.
This research project is Timko’s latest effort to turn waste into fuel. Over the last three years, he has garnered more than $5 million for related research—all focused on lessening dependence on environmentally harmful fossil fuels, fighting climate change and creating renewable energy.
“We’re taking something that is a huge energy consumer and turning it into an energy producer,” Timko said of the new project. “And at the same time, we’re taking a problematic waste and turning it into something useful and valuable. Making wastewater treatment an energy-producing process is a win on multiple levels. And if we can keep this continuous flow of waste from going into landfills, that’s just a huge win.”
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