(Feb.25,2015) Oil and gas operations in the United States produce about 21
billion barrels of wastewater per year. The saltiness of the water and the
organic contaminants it contains have traditionally made treatment difficult
and expensive.
Engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder have
invented a simpler process that can simultaneously remove both salts and
organic contaminants from the wastewater, all while producing additional
energy. The new technique, which relies on a microbe-powered battery, was
recently published in the journal Environmental Science Water Research &
Technology as the cover story.