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LLNL & Chemergy Slated to Exhibit the HyBrTec Project Featuring Wastewater Biosolids and Hydrogen Biofuel Conversion

Creation Date Friday, 18 April 2014.

A team of researchers from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in collaboration with Chemergy, Inc. is ready to showcase a groundbreaking bioenergy technology project, called HyBrTec, engineered to transform wastewater treatment plant by-products into hydrogenated gas and generate electricity.

LLNL & Chemergy Slated to Exhibit the HyBrTec Project Featuring Wastewater Biosolids and Hydrogen Biofuel ConversionLLNL project lead and chemist Bob Glass takes pride in demonstrating the functionality of this cutting-edge technology designed by Chemergy. “Our job is to lend our multi-disciplinary expertise in chemistry, engineering, and materials science to optimize the efficiency of this new technology, at the same time, encourage both private and government agencies concerned to take advantage of bio solids (sewage sludge) for energy production,” says Glass.

The 24-month $1.75 million-worth joint project is funded by Chemergy and the California Energy Commission, analyzed by LLNL, and sponsored by the Bay Area Biosolids to Energy (BAB2E) Coalition. The demo project will be spearheaded by the Delta Diablo Sanitation District (DDSD) and will be held at their facility in Antioch, California. Other project affiliates include the Department of Energy (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL).

Glass’ research team has begun setup of the demo last October and estimated that the Antioch waste water treatment plant will be processing one ton of wet bio solids each day and generating up to 30 kilowatts of electricity in about a year.

The HyBrTec brainchild employs a patent-pending technology that chemically merges thermo chemistry for heat, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen compound production from wet waste water by-products with hydrogen compound decomposition for renewable hydrogen gas production. In this chemical model, the hydrogen bio fuel will be used as an alternative and fuel cells feed to generate electricity.

This bio energy innovation is projected to be capable of converting wet bio solids into hydrogen at less than $2 per kilogram (1 kg. of hydrogen is equivalent to 1 gallon of gasoline in terms of energy content) making it a viable fuel alternative to power up select segments in industrial plants or to run a automotive engine.

Biotechnological advancements like the HyBrTec technology offers great potential in improving today’s industrial waste water by-product management and clean energy production. These advances can also help reduce fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gases generation worldwide, making it a viable and environmentally sustainable water treatment solution.

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