A renewable energy research project developed at the University of Nevada, Reno is moving from the lab to the field in a demonstration-scale system to turn wastewater sludge into electricity. The patent-pending, low-cost, energy-efficient technology will be assembled in the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility near Reno and Sparks, NV. “Our plan is to test the unit by about May 15,” says Chuck Coronella, PhD, PE, principal investigator for the research project and associate professor of chemical engineering at U-Nevada. “We’re designing, building, and assembling a continuous-feed system that will ultimately be used to generate electricity. We’ll run experiments throughout the summer, creating a usable dried product from the sludge.”
The experimental carbon-neutral system will process 20 pounds of sludge per hour, drying it at modest temperatures into solid that will be analyzed for its suitability to be used for fuel through gasification and, in a commercial operation, ultimately converted to electricity. The refrigerator-size demonstration unit will help researchers determine the optimum conditions for a commercial-sized operation. “The beauty of this process is that it’s designed to be all on-site, saving trucking costs and disposal fees for the sludge,” explains Victor Vasquez, PhD, associate professor of chemical engineering. “It uses waste heat from the process to drive the electrical generation. It also keeps the sludge out of the landfill.” Estimates, which will be refined through the research, show that a full-scale system could potentially generate 600 kilowatts of electricity a day to help power the reclamation facility plant. U-Nevada’s TTO, with assistance from the College of Business, is supporting the project with plans to make the system available to hundreds of communities around the country that operate water treatment plants.
Source: PhysOrg.com