DOE Funds Northwestern Engineers' Microbial Wastewater Resource Recovery Project

Northwestern Engineering researchers have launched an ambitious biotechnology project aimed at turning wastewater into a domestic source of valuable nutrients and critical materials. Supported by more than $2.7 million in new funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E RECOVER program, the team will develop a platform that uses specially engineered microbes to extract nitrogen and phosphorus directly from municipal wastewater streams. By reframing these elements as recoverable commodities, the project seeks to reduce reliance on ammonia and phosphorus imports that currently support much of the U.S. agricultural and industrial sectors. The N-PRIME approach concentrates nutrients efficiently, enabling them to be captured