“Environmental Biotechnology, the Means to Maximize the Value of Resources Recovered from Wastewaters”

Environmental Biotechnology is defined as “partnering with microbial communities that provide sustainability services to society.”  Those services include detoxifying pollutants, creating renewable resources, and improving human health.  The partnership is powerful due to combining the creative and managerial powers of humans with the incredible metabolic diversity of microorganisms.  This talk focuses on how environmental biotechnology provides an outstanding means to turn wastewaters from environmental liabilities to sources of valuable resources.  The primary focus is on wastewaters that contain high concentrations of organic matter:  e.g., animal wastes, food-processing wastes, and uneaten food.  The talk is organized around a four-part strategy:  (1) Go for the big energy.  (2) Get more energy out of complex organic residuals.  (3) Capture nutrients in high value mobile streams. (4) Produce a higher value energy output.  The talk outlines the technical principles underlying each of the four parts, and it also shows the economic benefits from following the strategy. 

Dr. Bruce E. Rittmann is Regents' Professor of Environmental Engineering and Director of the Biodesign Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology at Arizona State University.  His research focuses on the science and engineering needed to “manage microbial communities to provide services to society.”   Dr. Rittmann is a member of the National Academy of Engineering; a Fellow of AAAS, WEF, IWA, AEESP, and NAI; and a Distinguished Member of ASCE.   He is the co-winner of the 2018 Stockholm Water Prize. Dr. Rittmann received his BS and MS degrees in civil engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and PhD in environmental engineering from Stanford University in California.

 https://lehigh.zoom.us/j/93225271902