Bruce Rittmann was honored with the Simon W. Freese Award, a prestigious national honor for his team's innovative technology to use microbes to clean contaminated water
Bruce Rittmann has been honored with the prestigious 2009 Simon W. Freese Environmental Engineering Award, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field. Rittmann is a professor at Arizona State University’s Department of Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering, Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, and the director of the Center for Environmental Biotechnology at the Biodesign Institute.
The Freese Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Environmental Engineering Division of the Environmental Water and Resource Institute, (EWRI), a specialized affiliate of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE ). Rittmann’s selection for the award was based largely on his pioneering work in the development of biofilm fundamentals and for contributions to their widespread use in the cleanup of contaminated waters, soils and ecosystems—issues he discussed in his acceptance lecture, "Environmental Biotechnology for Water and Wastewater Treatment." The talk was delivered on Tuesday, May 19, at the World Environmental & Water Resources Congress in Kansas City, Missouri.
Rao Y. Surampalli, presiding chairman of the Freese Award committee emphasized the importance of Rittmann’s research career: “In my opinion, Dr. Rittmann is a very highly distinguished Environmental Engineering Professional and has contributed significantly to our environmental engineering profession.” The honor comes on the heels of Rittmann’s appointment as ASU Regents’ Professor, a tribute awarded this year to five exceptional university professors, by ASU President Michael Crow and Elizabeth D. Capaldi, executive vice president and provost.
Rittmann is a leading pioneer in developing microbial systems to capture renewable resources and alleviate environmental pollution. His research combines microbiology, biochemistry, geochemistry and microbial ecology, for the purposes of restoring water purity and generating usable energy from waste products. Rittmann was honored with the Simon W. Freese Award largely for his innovative work on the membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR), a technology that is now in widespread use for a wide variety of bioremediation applications.
Plans for the MBfR took root over a decade ago, when Rittmann hit on the concept of creating a device that would use hydrogen and microorganisms to convert contaminants in water into harmless chemicals. Although he felt confident that the basic science of the project was sound, Rittmann found it a challenge to convince the wider scientific community and to secure the necessary funding to pursue research and development.
Biofilms are thin layers of bacteria that accumulate on surfaces. The MBfR uses a hollow fiber, composed of a semi-permeable membrane, immersed in polluted water. A biofilm of microorganisms forms on the outside of this fiber. The hollow interior is filled with hydrogen, which can pass through the fiber’s membrane, making contact with the biofilm. The biofilm microorganisms then grab electrons supplied by the hydrogen, using these to convert harmful contaminants into benign products. The powerful technique has been successfully applied to over a dozen hazardous pollutants, with the bacteria acting as high-efficiency cleansing agents. Over the course of hours or days, the MBfR begins processing waste, rapidly reaching optimal performance.
The membrane biofilm reactor relies on common chemical transformations known as redox reactions. Here, atoms of a given compound either lose electrons in the process of oxidation, or gain electrons—known as reduction. As Rittmann explains, oxidized materials often pose health concerns for humans. If such compounds can be reduced, they can be rendered harmless. The MBfR is a particularly useful machine for reducing oxidized matter. Hydrogen in this case acts as an electron donor, offering up its electrons to the oxidized contaminants. Environmental pollutants are thereby reduced, yielding safe water. Recently, Rittmann has applied the technique to the problem of perchlorate and trichloroethylene (TCE), serious environmental toxins which have been detected in the groundwater supplies of major cities, including Phoenix.
Rittmann was earlier honored with the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from ASCE, the University Scholar Award from the University of Illinois, and the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation. Other notable achievements include the National Water Research Institute’s Clarke Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Water Science and Technology and ASU’s Faculty Achievement Award in Defining Edge Research, Natural Sciences/Math.
One of the world’s most cited researchers, according to the Institute for Scientific Information, Rittmann is a prolific author of over 300 books and professional papers. His textbook, Environmental Biotechnology: Principles and Applications, is used by universities around the world. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Written by Richard Harth
Science Writer
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Bruce Rittmann
Director, Center for Environmental Biotechnology
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