Projects

Currently, a considerable amount of electrical energy is required to treat domestic and industrial waste waters. At this point the interdisciplinary research consortium of the BioMethanol project aims at developing an energy-efficient alternative, by using a so-called Microbial Electrolysis Cell (MEC) to produce hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the energy-rich organic fraction of the waste water. Following this, the produced H2 and CO2 will be converted into methanol by a downstream methanol synthesis stage. Methanol is a promising energy carrier that can be easily stored and transported and also serve as a raw substance for further chemical syntheses. BioMethanol is coordinated at the University of Freiburg’s Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK). Project partners are the Institute for Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry at the University of Freiburg, the Institute for Applied Biology at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT), the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, and Solvay Acetow GmbH. In addition, the regional utility company Badenova AG as well as the “Abwasserzweckverband Staufener Bucht“, operator of a municipal sewage plant, are involved as consulting partners. The project BioMethanol is also part of the initiative „Green Industry Park Freiburg“, which provides a platform for the energy-efficient use of resources in industry.