Double Helping: Maryland Researcher Featured in New Big Ten Network Video Creates Clean Energy While Cleaning Bay

Algae/Other Aquatic Organisms/Seaweed, BioRefineries/Renewable Fuel Production, Biorefinery/Fuel Production Infrastructure, Business News/Analysis, Feedstock, Feedstocks, Infrastructure, Maryland, R & D Focus, Small scale biorefineries, Sustainability

November 30, 2018

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by Samantha Watters (Maryland Today) University of Maryland researchers are helping to keep pollution out of the Port of Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay while providing a pollution-free source of renewable energy.

Stephanie Lansing, associate professor of environmental science and technology, is leading a pilot project to harvest biogas from algae previously used to filter pollution from water flowing into the port.

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The algae are initially grown for a system designed by two members of the Department of Environmental Science and Technology: lecturer Peter May, a senior environmental scientist at the Baltimore-based Biohabitats engineering firm, and Associate Professor Patrick Kangas. The algae consume runoff containing fertilizer, yard and pet waste, and excess nutrients. Nutrient pollution can lead to oxygen-starved “dead zones” in the bay.

The algae in the system are harvested weekly and fed into digesters to produce methane-enriched biogas that’s used to power a fuel cell that generates electricity.

Currently, the fuel cell is only powering flood lights around the digesters. Adding the water pump is the next goal, making this a completely sustainable and closed system for this small-scale pilot project. READ MORE includes VIDEO

Maryland is turning algae into electricity AND cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay: BTN LiveBIG (Big Ten Network; includes VIDEO)

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