On the 26th and 27th of October, the Festa de la Ciència will take place in Barcelona. This initiative, created by the Barcelona City Council, aims to promote scientific knowledge and engage citizens in its development. For the first time, Leitat will participate in this year’s edition with a presentation on microbial fuel cells—microorganisms that produce electricity while simultaneously cleaning wastewater. Daniele Molognoni and Maria del Pilar Bernicola will share their research in this field.
How do bacteria breathe? How do electrons move? How can we benefit from bacterial respiration using an electrode? These are some of the questions that both speakers will address during their talk at the Festa de la Ciència. The main challenge is: how to produce the largest amount of energy with wastewater?
The researchers have developed a system that cleans wastewater while generating electricity. Their innovative approach extracts energy from organic matter within wastewater and uses it to power the cleaning process. This method significantly reduces the electricity required for wastewater treatment, making the process more sustainable and environmentally friendly. During their talk, they will showcase how this technology is applied in large European research projects such as:
- MIDES: A project that uses bacteria to desalinate water.
- Run4Life: A project recovering nutrients and nitrogen from wastewater to produce fertilizers for agriculture.
The key takeaway from this presentation is that bacteria are our friends.
The presentation can be downloaded here.
Follow the event on Twitter using the hashtag #TotesSomGenis.
Due to recent circumstances in the city, the Institute of Culture of Barcelona has decided to change the location of the 13th Science Festival. This major citizen event dedicated to science and technology, held on October 26 and 27, has been moved from Ciutadella Park to the nearby Moll de la Fusta.
