Billions of years ago, when Earth’s atmosphere reeked of unbreathable gases, microbes evolved in the absence of oxygen. As Earth matured and the nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere formed, these anaerobic, or oxygen-averse, bacteria retreated into the mud of the ocean floor and other environments where they would be safe from oxygen-rich air.
Billions of years ago, when Earth’s atmosphere reeked of unbreathable gases, microbes evolved in the absence of oxygen. As Earth matured and the nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere formed, these anaerobic, or oxygen-averse, bacteria retreated into the mud of the ocean floor and other environments where they would be safe from oxygen-rich air.
Now Stanford environmental engineers Craig Criddle and Bill Mitch are putting these ancient microorganisms to work in the largest demonstration of a more cost-effective wastewater treatment process, supported by a $2 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC). Smaller plants based on anaerobic bacteria are currently treating wastewater in South Korea and on the Stanford campus.
Working closely with environmental engineers from Silicon Valley Clean Water (SVCW), a water treatment utility, the Stanford team will help build and operate a small anaerobic treatment plant in Redwood Shores, California, alongside the enormous conventional plant that purifies wastewater for a quarter million people and businesses from Redwood City to Menlo Park.
Read more at Stanford University
