Wastewater treatment

As a result of environmental engineering research at the University of Queensland in Australia, generating clean energy and high-quality recycled water from two of the main sources of household waste is one step closer to reality.

Simon Tannock, a PhD student from the BioMass BioEnergy (BmBe) group in the School of Engineering, has designed a wastewater treatment plant to recover energy and non-potable water from food waste and wastewater.

A pilot plant integrating the environmentally sustainable wastewater treatment system pioneered by Tannock and fellow PhD student Beth Rounsefell is now in operation at the St Lucia campus of the university.

The plant provides a complete treatment system that digests household waste and wastewater under anaerobic conditions to produce methane and high-quality non-potable recycled water.

According to Tannock, the plant offers a more effective way of dealing with the serious waste and wastewater treatment issues facing Australians across the country.

'We are treating two major sources of domestic waste in a way that will reduce energy use and carbon emissions, while ensuring the maximum recovery of two valuable resources - energy and water,' he said.