Maryam Amouamouha, Ph.D., a graduate student at
South Dakota Mines, has invented a new device that could revolutionize water
treatment and improve water quality and availability around the world.
Amouamouha assembled a unique combination of current
technologies and cutting-edge innovations to create a mini wastewater treatment
plant called AMBER for Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor with Electrolytic
Regeneration. The device can be installed in a home or business and take the
place of a costly septic system. The invention can also be scaled up to clean
wastewater from multiple homes or even a small town.
“Water is an issue everywhere; they have issues in
India, Africa, the Middle East, and even here in the United States,” says
Amouamouha. “Water shortages are likely to increase in the coming years, and,
by recycling water with AMBER, we can save this precious resource for future
generations.”
AMBER is a membrane bioreactor that employs a
combination of electrochemical bioprocessing and nanocomposite filtration. Amouamouha
has designed many of the components and received a provisional U.S. patent on
the invention. The discharge from AMBER is clean water, as well as energy in the
form of pure methane and compost. The discharged water is safe to drink, and it
can be recycled in the home. The compost can be used for enhancing crop
production, and the methane gas can be used as an energy source. “We’re capturing
the methane in a propane tank that can be used for multiple applications, like
heating a home,” says Amouamouha.
The system is more affordable than septic installation
for a normal family home, and it can be set up in a basement, garage, or
mechanical room. “You don’t need to put AMBER in the ground. It’s like an
appliance (e.g., a generator) in your home that is hooked up to your plumbing
system that will make clean water, energy, and compost all at the same time,”
says Amouamouha.
Her passion for increasing the availability of clean
water comes from her upbringing in the ancient farming town of Nahavand at the
base of the Alvand Mountain Range in western Iran. “My grandfather farmed
sunflower, corn, and beans. I was inspired to undertake this work after living
in a country with water availability issues and after seeing people suffering
from water shortages,” she says. “I want to do something that matters and that
can make a change worldwide."
Amouamouha finished her first Ph.D. in Iran at
Shahid Beheshti University before seeking a second Ph.D. at South Dakota Mines. She came to Mines to work with
Travis Walker, Ph.D., associate professor of chemical and biological
engineering. She initially began working with Walker on research related to biofilm
structure and control. “He has been an advisor and a champion of this work, and
his support has been monumental in the success of AMBER,” says Amouamouha. She also
credits Mel Ustad, Ph.D., project director for South Dakota EPSCoR,
Joseph Wright, associate vice president for research - economic development at South
Dakota Mines, and Jim Quinn and Rich Wells, bothEntrepreneurs In Residence at South Dakota Mines, for their support
and advocacy.
Amouamouha plans to build a business in South Dakota
that manufactures AMBER for global distribution. Prototype testing is being
completed with funding and support from Sioux Steel Company in Sioux Falls, SD,
and an assembly and manufacturing facility will be set up in Rapid City, SD.
AMBER has won multiple awards, including the National
Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps, and, most recently, first place in the
highly competitive business category at the Governor’s
Giant Vision Competition in Sioux Falls. “South Dakota is being so kind and
supportive to me. I am confident we can move forward with mass manufacturing,”
says Amouamouha. The next phase for AMBER is a public demonstration of the technology
and regulatory approval before manufacturing can start later this year.
“Dr. Amouamouha’s work is a fantastic
example of groundbreaking technology, created at Mines, that spins off into a
local start-up,” says Mines President Jim Rankin, Ph.D. “Her research has major
significance for water security around the planet, and the business she is
building can be centered right here in South Dakota.”