Energy Generation from Nitrogenous Organic Pollutants in Wastewater

As global energy crisis intensifies, the development of alternative energy sources has become a major concern. Among these resources, biogas and ammonia extracted from wastewater are gaining wide attention. In light of this, PolyU has developed an electrodeionization-solid oxide fuel coupling (EDI-SOFC) technology to process carbonaceous and nitrogenous pollutants in wastewater and generate electricity at the same time.

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), a traditional electrochemical conversion device, is highly efficient in electricity generation. However, wastewater cannot be used directly as fuel in SOFC. By coupling electrodeionization (EDI) and SOFC, the ammonium in wastewater can be converted into ammonia, which can then be used in SOFC to generate electricity. The process demonstrates low energy consumption and high efficiency. The EDI-SOFC technology is almost 60% more efficient than conventional methods of energy generation from wastewater.