Microbial electrogenesis for wastewater treatment

The Spanish consortium AQUAELECTRA will apply novel microbial electrogenesis strategies to treat wastewater. Funded by the National public-private cooperation programme INNPACTO, the collaborative project will be led by the Bioelectrogenesis group at IMDEA-Water and carried out by CENTA along with wastewater treatment companies Euroestudios, JOCA and DAM.

A consortium of research institutes and water companies will develop a new project in the field of wastewater purification. Under the name of Aquaelectra, this initiative provides for the application of new techniques that allow, in addition to wastewater treatment, to obtain and store clean energy. Members of Aquaelectra are IMDEA-Water Institute (Bioelectrogenesis group), CENTA Foundation (Centre for New Water Technologies) and wastewater and water treatment companies JOCA, DAM and Euroestudios, responsible for coordinating the project. Aquaelectra is funded through the programme INNPACTO from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.This collaborative project has three objectives: to develop a new concept of sewage treatment by constructing electrogenic wetlands, to establish a bioelectrogenic anaerobic treatment for wastewater and to design a novel electrochemical bioreactor for removal of nutrients (nitrogen).

In addition to their extensive research background, each partner provides skills for the development of this initiative. IMDEA-Water is devoted to investigate with high-tech analytical resources for water analysis and wastewater treatments. CENTA’s facilities in Carrión de los Céspedes, Seville, make available field assays. Euroestudios, DAM and JOCA bring their extensive experience in the infrastructure sector for wastewater treatment services.