<
https://theconversation.com/how-the-weird-and-wonderful-microbes-in-wastewater-can-make-our-cities-more-sustainable-220850>
"COVID-19 showed us how useful monitoring wastewater can be. But the genetic
material in our wastewater, namely DNA and RNA, is a treasure trove of other
useful information. It reveals the presence of thousands of different types of
weird and wonderful wastewater microbes.
The diversity of these microbes can “talk” to us and tell us how to get more
renewable energy out of our wastes. If only we could listen to them. Soon we
can.
How will that work? It all starts with our poo. These types of microbes have
been used since the 19th century to treat and reduce the ever-increasing
volumes of sewage sludge arriving at our wastewater treatment plants,
especially in urban areas. Two-thirds of the world’s people are expected to
live in urban areas by 2050, hence sewage treatment will be in high demand.
Yet most people today have little idea how vital microbes are for sustainable
growth of cities. We need them to treat our waste.
We also need sources of renewable energy. Thanks to naturally occurring
microbes, our water utilities can produce renewable biogas from human waste. By
reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, their poo biogas can help to mitigate
climate change.
So we need to learn more about these microbes to ensure they are doing the best
possible job of processing our waste. One way of doing that is by monitoring
DNA in human waste sludge."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
