Biodesign Institute Harnesses Wastewater-Munching Microbes to Make Hydrogen

Is wastewater our greatest underutilized resource? We've recently seen a startup that turns sludge into high-quality fertilizer as well as a university that produces steam, water, acetic acid, and fertilizer from wastewater. Arizona State University' Biodesign Institute is continuing the trend with a process that uses wastewater as a feedstock to generate hydrogen for fuel cells.

Microbial fuel cells, or fuel cells that harness biochemical reactions from wastewater-munching microbes, are...