You may not be able to polish human waste, but a Queensland researcher has found a way to turn it into power.
Dr Shihu Hu, from the University of Queensland's Advanced Water Management Centre, has investigated the potential for organic material within wastewater to be used for electricity.
That material can be broken down to produce methane-rich biogas, but wastewater also contains concentrated amounts of nitrogen which Dr Hu says is typically removed using ethanol.
The process is expensive and eliminates almost half the organic matter in waste, he says, meaning there isn't as much left to convert to methane.
"The new technology we are developing can recover more methane without requiring ethanol to be used to remove nitrogen," Dr Hu said.
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Sewage treatment accounts for up to 20 per cent of the total energy consumption in some cities.
Dr Hu expected his technology to be "rapidly adopted" after experimenting at Queensland's largest wastewater treatment facility, at Brisbane's Luggage Point, during the research.
"The site gives me unlimited access to free samples, with about 60 Olympic swimming pools of waste arriving every day," he said.
Dr Hu said if adopted, his method could save hundreds of thousands of dollars at large facilities.
"It means the energy-intensive water treatment industry can go from big energy consumers to being energy neutral."
The researcher will upscale his work courtesy of a $300,000 Advance Queensland Research Fellowship.
