NSF Award
1152409
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will optimize and pilot test the <br/>patent-pending Exogen system for the generation of biogas during wastewater <br/>treatment. Based on a newly discovered process called electromethanogenesis, ExogenTM <br/>uses applied voltages and bio-electrodes to increase wastewater treatment rates and <br/>methane fraction compared to competing fixed-film anaerobic digestion processes. Phase <br/>I R&D demonstrated (1) 30% - 50% increase in chemical oxygen demand removal rate, <br/>(2) 30%-60% increase in biogas production, (3) 5 - 18% increase in methane <br/>concentrations with both artificial and real-world wastewater, resulting in a payback <br/>period of 1.7 - 3.7 years. Further benefits include reduction in start-up time and the <br/>potential for real-time automation via direct electrical feedback. During Phase II R&D <br/>Cambrian Innovation will optimize the technology and build a scaled demonstration plant <br/>at a customer site <br/><br/>The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to help alleviate the conflicting <br/>demands for water and energy in the United States and across the industrialized world by <br/>enhancing the process of generating energy from wastewater treatment. Anaerobic <br/>digestion can generate energy from wastewater. A recent AgSTAR report has highlighted <br/>the potential for this technology in the U.S., identifying over 8,000 livestock facilities <br/>and numerous industrial sites suitable for the technology. Cambrian's ExogenTM platform <br/>aims to decrease the costs and increase the benefit associated with deploying anaerobic <br/>digestion in key industry segments, resulting in faster diffusion. Eventually the <br/>technology could open up new industries for anaerobic digestion processes. Exogen <br/>further has the potential for carbon sequestration via the direct reduction of CO2 to CH4. <br/>As such, ExogenTM technology offers a broad range of applications with significant <br/>societal benefit.
