Open AccessBioenergy from wastewater-based biomass
Author(s) -
Ronald C. Sims,
Sean K. Bedingfield,
Reese Thompson,
Judith L. Sims
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
aims bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2375-1495
DOI - 10.3934/bioeng.2016.1.103
Subject(s) - biomass (ecology) , bioenergy , renewable energy , environmental science , wastewater , resource (disambiguation) , energy security , renewable resource , biofuel , waste management , environmental engineering , engineering , agronomy , computer science , computer network , electrical engineering , biology
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has stated that biomass is the only renewable resource that can supplant petroleum-based liquid transportation fuels in the near term. Wastewater is beginning to be viewed as a potential resource that can be exploited for biomass production and conversion to bioenergy. We suggest that using wastewater from municipalities and industries as a resource for cultivating biomass and combining wastewater treatment with the production of biomass for bioenergy would provide benefits to both industries. Two waste-based biomass production systems that currently have large nationwide infrastructures include: (1) wastewater treatment systems that can be used to cultivate algae biomass, and (2) land application/treatment systems for non-food terrestrial biomass. These existing infrastructures could be used in the relatively near future for waste-based biomass production and conversion to bioenergy, thereby reducing capital costs and scalability challenges while making a contribution to energy independence and national security