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