Wastewater Fuels Ltd

Water treatment is an important function in society, however, sanitation comes at a substantial cost. The energy consumption associated with cleaning this wastewater is vast, around 3% of all electrical energy used in the UK is spent running the water treatment assets which allow the flow to be cleaned sufficiently to return to the environment.  

Wastewater Fuels have developed a patented Microbial Electrolysis Cell (MEC) technology to treat wastewater and produce hydrogen gas as a renewable energy source. MECs are similar to batteries, in that they use electrodes (cathodes and an anodes) which are separated by membranes. A small voltage is applied across the electrodes and sewage is fed to the anode chamber, allowing a community of microorganisms to develop. The microorganisms form a biofilm on the anode which break down organic and inorganic compounds in wastewaters. The product of this reaction is hydrogen gas and treated water to a standard that can be discharged to the environment.   

Our design produces more energy (in the form of hydrogen) than they consume, making the technology net energy positive. Due to the materials and operational savings when compared to standard wastewater treatment technologies, our MECs are able to significantly reduce the carbon impact of a works as the assets are less carbon intensive to operate and construct.