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Student Tries to Capture the Power of Sewage
Sikandar, 15, presents his findings to officials at the Seneca wastewater treatment plant. "We're very impressed," a senior plant operator said.
(By Katherine Frey -- The Washington Post)
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"It's a great experiment that has a lot of potential," said Sam Amad, manager of the Germantown treatment center, after watching the teen's 15-minute presentation. "It was a real treat and pleasure to work with Sikandar."
The idea of using sewage to generate electricity has been around since the early 1900s, but the science has only taken off in recent years. The breakthrough came when scientists discovered that it is possible to generate electricity without having to use chemicals in the process.
In researching his project, Sikandar consulted with Bruce Logan, Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, a leader in the field of microbial fuel cell research. Work on microbial fuel cells is also being done at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
"Sikandar is one of the first people to find out about this and to strike up a dialogue," said Logan, who published a paper on his own research in 2004.
Logan said that some of his grad students who are doing similar work have said jokingly that they might one day be working for the teenager.
Yesterday, as Sikandar concluded his presentation, members of the audience asked to see models of his work, which he keeps in a shoebox with a green lid.
Employees gathered around him, asking about coatings and the merits of different methods of filling the fuel cell with wastewater.
"At first, I didn't quite understand what he was doing," said Jorge Tello, a senior plant operator. "But it looks very promising. We're very impressed."
The next stop for the young scientist? The regional science fair, where he hopes to make a good showing.
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