The United States continues to consume more energy each year. In 2002, the US used 97 quad (97 quadrillion BTUs) of total energy or 28,400 terrawatt hours. Of this, 13 quad was electricity. Globally, worldwide use of energy continues to grow as well, creating additional demands for oil. It is estimated that within 10 to 20 years, the demand will exceed the supply, creating the first global oil crisis. Clearly, new sources of energy are needed. Using other types of fossil fuels is possible, but it creates the potential for continued and elevated releases of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that will contribute to global warming.

Renewable and clean forms of energy are one of society's greatest needs.  At the same time, 2 billion people in the world lack adequate sanitation and the economic means to afford it.  In this research, we are working to address both of these human needs. Energy costs are an important factor in wastewater treatment. In the USA, for example, 5% of electricity we produce is used for the water and wastewater infrastructure (all aspects, including pumping, treatment, etc.), with 1.5% used for wastewater treatment alone.                                               

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Producing hydrogen gas is possible at very high yields by electrohydrogenesis, in a reactors that have various names including: a "bioelectrochemically assisted microbial reactor" or BEAMR; biocatalyzed electrolysis cells (BECs); and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). These names are based on the idea is that fuel cells produce electricity, and electrolysis cells produce hydrogen.

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Departmental & Institute  Information:

Kappe Professor: Environmental Engineering,
Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Director: Engineering Energy & Environmental Institute
Director: Hydrogen Energy (H2E) Center

Using the Links:

The Research page contains links to pages that describe my research interests by topic.  The  Publications link contains a listing of all ongoing and past research projects at Penn State by the Logan group.  Copies of journal papers and other publication can be downloaded here. The Teaching link give a list of researchers (individual and group) in the Logan group, and for course information, go to the Courses page.

Presentations:

Click here to access Powerpoint presentations on subjects such as microbial fuel cells, perchlorate bioremediation, the HBOD test, trickling filters, particles, fractals and others.