Project for bioelectrochemical sewage treatment in the Arctic

Status: Active

The NRC is developing a new technology: BioElectrochemical Anaerobic Sewage Treatment (BEAST), which can biodegrade organic waste through a simple, low-energy bioelectrochemical process. (patent pending)

Objectives

• Develop improved techniques for sewage treatment operations in challenging Arctic and northern conditions

Deliverables

• A sewage treatment system that:
  • biodegrades organic waste through a simple, low-energy process, harnessing electroactive bacteria to consume organic wastes and produce biogas or heat
  • includes a tank equipped with electrically conductive porous electrodes, to which low voltage (1.4V) is applied and wastewater flows through the electrodes by gravity
  • is completely scalable and can be applied to a single home or to an entire community

Activities

• Pilot testing the BEAST system in a variety of conditions and geographic locations, including:
  • Montréal, QC
  • Grande Prairie, AB
  • Cambridge Bay, NU
  • Alaska
  • Greenland
• Building a 24 cubic metre system in Grande Prairie, AB as a first phase in a larger (75 cubic metre) community sewage treatment plant
• Testing the BEAST technology’s potential in such applications as:
  • heavy metals removal from ground and tailing pond waters
  • treatment of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW)
  • greywater
  • hydroponic water

Collaborators

• Elkan Environmental Engineering
• Polar Knowledge Canada

Results

• Testing achieved high waste removal rates in temperatures as low as 5 degrees Celsius and hydraulic retention time that varied between 1.5 and 4 days, depending on the concentration of the raw sewage

Project team

Boris Tartakovsky (SRO-EME)

Boris is the project manager and the scientific lead. He focuses on the design and operation of the bioelectrochemical reactor.

Yehuda Kleiner (PRO Construction)

Yehuda serves as a technical advisor and provides quality control and quality assurance as well as engineering knowhow.