Lamar University, Sam Houston State University and Sul Ross State University jointly received a $2 million grant from the Department of Defense for their effort to create a new wastewater treatment system.
Lamar University received $568,651 for the evaluation, integration and improvement of the Deployable Aerobic Aqueous Bioreactor (DAAB) system. The bioreactors use specially cultivated microorganisms to remove pollutants from wastewater.
The DAAB takes only 24 hours to produce treated municipal wastewater meeting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discharge standards, whereas conventional biological processes typically take 1-2 weeks to start up. This will be helpful when hurricanes hit because the system requires very little energy and can run on a generator. In theory, an affected community can clean up wastewater within 24-hours of a hurricane to prevent environmental consequence. The system is also ideal for decentralized wastewater treatment needed for many rapid-growing communities.
"Portability, flexibility, efficiency, and low energy requirement are the true strength of the system," said Jerry Lin of Beaumont, chief investigator for the DAAB system and associate professor of civil engineering. "The project is a wonderful collaboration in the Texas State University System. We have the expertise for success."
Lamar University serves as the technical lead for the joint project and will test the bioreactor system’s effectiveness and efficiency at Beaumont’s Wastewater Treatment Facility and implement new system design. The 18-month testing period began in September.
Lin is overseeing the Lamar’s investigation of the DAAB system. The team includes assistant professor of civil engineering Dong Chen, assistant professor of mechanical engineering Xianchang Li, associate professor of chemical engineering Peyton Richmond and assistant professor of chemical engineering Qiang Xu.
Two international students, Sehul Patel and Sowjanya Rapole of India, are also on the research team, and plans are to hire three additional student researchers.
The bioreactor system consists of four cylindrical basins, two for solid-water separation and two for removing pollutants. The first and last cylinders serve as clarifiers to separate sediment and sludge from water. The second and third cylinders use specially developed bacteria to digest the pollutants in the wastewater and contain a plastic mesh which the bacteria lives on.
Upon completion, Lamar’s research team will submit a report on engineering discoveries and system improvements that have been made.
They will provide an optimized design, engineering parameters, and automated control. Lamar University will also facilitate future deployment and commercialization of the DAAB system.
The system prototype was developed by the Texas Research Institute for Environmental Studies at Sam Houston State University. Sul Ross State University is in charge of the microbiology aspects. Sam Houston State University oversees the fabrication and trouble- shooting for the Deployable Aerobic Aqueous Bioreactor system.
