Sewers could help clean the atmosphere

Written by
John Sullivan
John Sullivan, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Jan. 15, 2019

Sewage treatment — an unglamorous backbone of urban living — could offer a cost-effective way to combat climate change by flushing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, according to a recent paper by researchers at Princeton University. The researchers found that millions of tons of CO2 could be captured and utilized, while billions of dollars in revenue could be generated.

“The water industry could play a big role in tackling climate change,” said senior author Jason Ren, professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. “It is a very exciting idea because people always think about energy or transportation, but water has not been considered as a major factor in carbon reduction.”

Ren said that sewer plants are frequently located near large, carbon-emitting facilities such as power plants, cement factories and refineries. He also said the technique could be used by industries that already run their own wastewater treatment systems such as oil and gas producers, brewers, and distillers.

The authors cautioned that research and development is needed before the systems they analyzed could be deployed, but the techniques they reviewed include: microbial electrolytic carbon capture, microbial electrosynthesis, microalgae cultivation and biochar production.

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