Water utility reveals project to turn sewage into sustainable aircraft fuel

Researchers from Northumbrian Water, in the UK, hope to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from algae grown in domestic sewage. Algae will be used to extract nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewater, in a project that has been named ‘Green Machine'  before it is recovered and made into sustainable fuels.

The Bran Sands Treatment Works site has been earmarked to trial Green Machine. Northumbrian Water hopes their £6.5m investment in this project, will help reduce the environmental impact of waste treatment and could potentially lead to savings of approximately  £1million in operational costs every year.

Northumbrian Water are working in collaboration with US firm BrightWave, which specialises in supplying the photobioreactors used to cultivate algae, and Ligoflux a Dutch company that provides products for algae harvesting.

Angela MacOscar, head of innovation at Northumbrian Water Group’s head of innovation, commented, "The Green Machine is set to revolutionise the way we treat waste, and we are incredibly excited that we have started work on this brand-new project. With our ‘Power from Poo’ project, where we create green energy using the sludge that is left over from wastewater treatment, we have already shown that we are leading the industry in pushing the boundaries of innovation, and this is set to be carried forward with this project.

"Not only will this help to develop a value-added product, but it will also help to boost us forward towards our own net zero goals and help us to achieve our net zero ambitions."