New Wastewater Treatment System Runs on Algae
by Julia Mericle (The Hawk Eye) If Columbus Junction City Council approves the project, they could be first to install new technology in Iowa. — Columbus Junction could count itself among pioneering cities in the struggle to treat wastewater if the city council approves new technology that favors algae over bacteria.
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If installed, Huston said the new system would cost Columbus Junction about $2.2 million, while using the conventional method would cost the city about $4.5 million.
While lower costs ease the minds of city officials, Gross said the process is also the most sustainable and environmentally friendly on the market.
The patent-pending revolving algal biofilm treatment technology, or RAB, grows micro algae on vertical belts that rotate in and out of the wastewater.
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Then, workers can harvest the algae from the system and use it to create products such as biofuels, bioplastics and fertilizers.
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While conventional treatments use bacteria, which becomes a waste product in the process, everything that comes out of the RAB system can be used. READ MORE
Spain: Waste management with micro-algae cultivation (Fresh Plaza)