Lab/Models

Model Catalog

21 entries

Research-derived digital twins spanning microscale wearables to municipal-scale wastewater treatment. Each twin is grounded in peer-reviewed geometry, governing PDEs, and microbial kinetics extracted from the MESSAI corpus.

Microscale µL – mL · Lab / Sensor / Wearable
Benchscale 0.1 – 10 L · R&D / Pilot
Pilotscale 10 L – 10 m³ · Demonstration / Industrial
Full Scale > 10 m³ · Municipal / Grid / Architecture
Filters
Usage
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Microscale · µL – mL

The Laminar Shield

Membraneless Microfluidic MFC

TRL

4–5

Volume

10 µL – 0.5 mL

Geometry

Y-junction PDMS or glass ch…

Key differentiator

Eliminates the membrane bottleneck by using laminar co-flow as a virtual separator — cuts internal resistance by an order of magnitude while removing the most failure-prone component in classical MFCs.

Applications

  • Lab-on-chip biosensors and BOD probes
  • Disposable point-of-care diagnostics
  • High-throughput strain screening
  • Educational and prototyping platforms
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Benchscale · 0.1 – 10 L

The Hydrogen Engine

Dual-Chamber Microbial Electrolysis Cell

TRL

5–6

Volume

0.1 – 5 L per chamber

Geometry

Two acrylic or glass chambe…

Key differentiator

Closes the wastewater-to-fuel loop: organic carbon goes in, clean H₂ comes out at the cathode. Applied bias of ≈ 0.4 V is one-tenth the energy required for water electrolysis because anode microbes do most of the thermodynamic work.

Applications

  • Wastewater-to-hydrogen at WWTPs
  • Distributed clean-fuel production
  • CO₂-neutral H₂ for fuel-cell vehicles
  • Coupled treatment + energy recovery for breweries / distilleries
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Microscale · µL – mL

The Channel Screener

Microfluidic Algal Fuel Cell

TRL

2–3

Volume

50 – 500 µL

Geometry

Microscope-slide-format PDM…

Key differentiator

Magnetic electrode mounts let researchers swap anode or cathode materials in under a minute without disturbing the biofilm on the opposing electrode — enabling combinatorial material screening at µL scale.

Applications

  • High-throughput algal and cyanobacterial strain screening
  • Electrode material characterisation at µL scale
  • Channel topology comparison studies (straight, serpentine, interdigitated)
  • Optically coupled in-situ biofilm microscopy
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Full Scale · > 10 m³

The Urban Scavenger

Industrial / Municipal Wastewater MES

TRL

6–7

Volume

0.5 – 1,000 m³

Geometry

Tubular fiberglass modules,…

Key differentiator

Treats real municipal and industrial wastewater while net-generating electrical power — turns a cost center (aeration) into a revenue stream (electrons + cleaner effluent).

Applications

  • Municipal wastewater treatment retrofits
  • Brewery, dairy, and food-processing effluent
  • Pharma and pulp/paper polishing
  • Decentralized rural sanitation
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Pilotscale · 10 L – 10 m³

The Deep-Sea Pulse

Benthic Microbial Fuel Cell

TRL

6

Volume

0.5 – 50 m² footprint

Geometry

Buried graphite or carbon-c…

Key differentiator

A truly autonomous power source for deep-ocean sensors — no batteries to replace, no solar cells to clean, just sediment chemistry and time. Drop it and forget it for years.

Applications

  • Oceanographic sensor power (CTD, ADCP, hydrophone)
  • Submarine cable monitoring
  • Coastal pollution and HAB detection buoys
  • Long-duration AUV docking stations
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Benchscale · 0.1 – 10 L

The Photosynthetic Sync

Algae-Powered Bioremediation MFC

TRL

5–6

Volume

1 – 30 L

Geometry

Dual-chamber acrylic device…

Key differentiator

Couples photosynthetic O₂ generation directly to the cathode, replacing mechanical aeration with light — and turning atmospheric CO₂ into both oxidant supply and biomass.

Applications

  • Aeration-free MFC research platforms
  • Coupled bioremediation + biomass production
  • CO₂-fixation demonstrators
  • Biophotovoltaic education kits
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Pilotscale · 10 L – 10 m³

The Circular Miner

Resource Recovery / Microbial Desalination Cell

TRL

4–5

Volume

0.5 – 50 L per chamber

Geometry

Three rectangular chambers …

Key differentiator

A single device recovers freshwater, harvests valuable ions (Li⁺, NH₄⁺, PO₄³⁻), and generates power — converting "waste" brines into three product streams.

Applications

  • Brackish water desalination
  • Lithium recovery from geothermal or oil-and-gas brines
  • Ammonium recovery from urine and digestate
  • Phosphate recovery from wastewater
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Benchscale · 0.1 – 10 L

The Carbon Fixer

Microbial Electrosynthesis (MES)

TRL

5–6

Volume

0.1 – 5 L

Geometry

H-cell or flat-plate reacto…

Key differentiator

Runs the MFC backwards: electrons in, CO₂ in, valuable chemicals out — a renewable-electricity-driven biological route to fuels and platform chemicals.

Applications

  • CO₂-to-acetate / butyrate / ethanol
  • Power-to-X bioprocessing
  • Carbon-negative chemical production
  • Biorefinery integration (substitute for fossil-derived feeds)
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Pilotscale · 10 L – 10 m³

The Redox Flow-Hybrid

RFB-MFC Decoupled Architecture

TRL

4

Volume

1 – 100 L bio-reservoir

Geometry

Skid-mounted system with tw…

Key differentiator

Decouples microbial growth from electrode reactions — bugs live in a comfortable reservoir; only the soluble redox mediator visits the electrode. Combines the energy density of bioelectrochemistry with the dispatchability of a flow battery.

Applications

  • Long-duration grid-scale storage
  • Renewable load-following
  • Off-grid and microgrid backup
  • Biomass-to-electricity buffering
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Benchscale · 0.1 – 10 L

The Space Farer

Extremophile / Low-G MFC

TRL

4

Volume

0.1 – 5 L

Geometry

Stainless cylinder, 0.5–10 …

Key differentiator

Designed from first principles for microgravity, partial gravity, and high-radiation environments — a closed-loop bioelectrochemical reactor for long-duration spaceflight and lunar / Mars surface ops.

Applications

  • ISS and Lunar Gateway payloads
  • Mars surface ISRU (in-situ resource utilization)
  • Long-duration crewed mission life support
  • Extremophile bioprospecting on Earth
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Microscale · µL – mL

The Soil Health Guard

In-situ Soil MFC Biosensor

TRL

7

Volume

100 cm² – 10 m² footprint

Geometry

Buried carbon-cloth or grap…

Key differentiator

A self-powered soil sensor that reads the rhizosphere from the inside — current output IS the measurement, no external battery, no separate transducer.

Applications

  • Precision agriculture moisture and nutrient sensing
  • Soil contamination event detection
  • Reforestation and carbon-farming verification
  • Long-baseline ecological monitoring
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Full Scale · > 10 m³

The Living Facade

Microfluidic BPV Building Panel

TRL

4–5

Volume

5 – 50 L per panel

Geometry

Glass-laminate microfluidic…

Key differentiator

A building skin that breathes — generates electricity, fixes CO₂, modulates heat gain, and grows visibly green over the seasons. Architecture as living infrastructure.

Applications

  • Net-zero / carbon-positive building skins
  • Architectural retrofits (replace cladding)
  • Urban CO₂ sequestration at scale
  • Combined daylighting + power + cooling
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Microscale · µL – mL

The Skin-Link

Wearable Sweat-Powered Bio-Fuel Cell

TRL

3–4

Volume

10 µL – 1 mL

Geometry

Thin flexible PDMS patch, 1…

Key differentiator

Mechanically flexible bio-fuel cell with strain-coupled exchange-current density — bends with the body, reads the body's chemistry, and powers itself from the body's effort.

Applications

  • Self-powered wearable medical sensors
  • Continuous fitness and lactate monitoring
  • Battery-free skin patches
  • Sport-performance analytics
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Pilotscale · 10 L – 10 m³

The Ghost Power

Sediment-to-Microgrid Interface

TRL

5–6

Volume

100 m² – 10 km²

Geometry

16–25 individual benthic MF…

Key differentiator

A self-powered, self-organizing mesh of benthic MFCs that learns collectively — federated intelligence on a sediment substrate, no external power, no centralized server.

Applications

  • Smart lake / smart reservoir monitoring
  • Coastal water-quality networks
  • Aquaculture site surveillance
  • Environmental compliance and HAB early-warning
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Full Scale · > 10 m³

The Biogas Engine

Anaerobic Digester (CSTR + ADM1)

TRL

8–9

Volume

1 000 – 5 000 m³ per reactor (lab to municipal)

Geometry

Vertical cylindrical concre…

Key differentiator

ADM1 — IWA Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 — is the canonical kinetic model for AD across the wastewater + biogas industries. Its 24 state variables capture every step from particulate hydrolysis through acetoclastic methanogenesis; the QSDsan AnaerobicCSTR unit operation is built around it.

Applications

  • Municipal sludge digestion (primary + secondary clarifier sludge)
  • High-strength industrial wastewater (food, dairy, brewery, distillery)
  • Manure digestion at livestock operations
  • Co-digestion of organic-fraction MSW with sludge
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Pilotscale · 10 L – 10 m³

The Bio-Battery Train

MFC + Anaerobic Digester (electricity from wastewater)

TRL

4–5

Volume

0.5 – 50 m³ MFC stack downstream of a 10 000 m³ AD

Geometry

Left: cylindrical AD tank (…

Key differentiator

AD alone leaves 25–50 % of the influent COD behind in the digestate. An MFC polish step recovers a portion of that residual COD as electricity at electrode-surface efficiencies that exceed dark-fermentation H2 routes. Bridges the parameter-sweep page’s Butler-Volmer + Monod outputs (sweep export → MESSanUnit) directly into a full-flowsheet TEA.

Applications

  • Wastewater treatment with energy recovery (food / dairy / brewery effluents)
  • Decentralised treatment at sites without grid access
  • BOD sensors at WWTP outfalls (MFC voltage tracks BOD)
  • Educational / public-engagement reactors
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Full Scale · > 10 m³

The Industry Workhorse

Conventional Activated Sludge (CAS + ASM2d)

TRL

9

Volume

500 – 100 000 m³/d (municipal + industrial)

Geometry

Aerated rectangular bioreac…

Key differentiator

CAS is the technology MFC/MEC/AD systems must beat on capex/opex per kg COD removed. Without it as a baseline, claims about "wastewater MFC" economics are unfalsifiable. ASM2d adds phosphorus accumulation organisms (PAOs) for enhanced biological P removal — critical for nutrient-discharge-limited installations.

Applications

  • Municipal wastewater treatment plants (primary technology)
  • Industrial COD/BOD discharge compliance
  • Pre-treatment ahead of AD or MFC polishing stages
  • Nutrient (N+P) removal via process variants (A2O, MUCT, UCT)
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Pilotscale · 10 L – 10 m³

The Hydrogen Train

MEC + Anaerobic Digester (H₂ from wastewater)

TRL

3–4

Volume

0.5 – 50 m³ MEC stack downstream of a 10 000 m³ AD

Geometry

Left: cylindrical AD tank (…

Key differentiator

AD recovers most of the COD as biogas; MEC polish recovers a portion of the residual as H₂ at applied biases of 0.6–1.0 V — well below the 1.23 V thermodynamic minimum for water electrolysis. Bridges the MFC kinetics from the parameter-sweep page directly into a TEA accounting for electricity input, H₂ output, and residual COD reduction.

Applications

  • On-site green hydrogen at industrial wastewater operations
  • Refinery / petrochemical wastewater with valuable H₂ co-product
  • Distributed H₂ supply where transport is costly
  • Pilot demonstration of bioelectrochemical H₂ recovery
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Pilotscale · 10 L – 10 m³

The Color Eater

Electrocoagulation (Al/Fe sacrificial anode)

TRL

7–8

Volume

1 – 500 m³/d (industrial side-stream)

Geometry

Rectangular flow cell with …

Key differentiator

Eliminates dosed-coagulant inventory (Al₂(SO₄)₃, FeCl₃) by generating the active species electrochemically — capex shifts from chemical handling to a small DC power supply. Faraday-law-bounded so dosing is precise and proportional to current. Avoids the sulfate / chloride counter-ion accumulation that wet coagulation introduces.

Applications

  • Textile + dye wastewater color removal
  • Heavy-metal precipitation from mining / electroplating
  • Oil-water emulsion separation
  • Printing-ink ink-laden effluent
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Pilotscale · 10 L – 10 m³

The Phosphorus Mine

Struvite Crystallisation (NH₄MgPO₄·6H₂O recovery)

TRL

8–9

Volume

10 – 500 m³/d side-stream

Geometry

Vertical fluidized-bed crys…

Key differentiator

Struvite (NH₄MgPO₄·6H₂O) is the only granular fertilizer recovered directly from wastewater at industrial scale (Ostara Pearl, NuReSys, Multiform). Capex pays back via avoided P-recovery surcharges + struvite sale. Mg dosing is the main reagent cost; product carries premium pricing as slow-release organic fertilizer.

Applications

  • Municipal WWTP side-stream P recovery (Ostara Pearl is the reference design)
  • Anaerobic digestion supernatant treatment to prevent downstream scaling
  • Concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) manure-derivative streams
  • Industrial fertilizer-precursor feedstocks (slow-release granular fertilizer)
3D preview
Open in Lab→
Drag to orbit
Pilotscale · 10 L – 10 m³

The Ammonia Stripper

Ammonia Stripping (NH₃ recovery at high pH)

TRL

8–9

Volume

10 – 500 m³/d side-stream

Geometry

Packed-tower (random or str…

Key differentiator

Recovers N as a saleable chemical product (ammonium sulfate fertilizer or anhydrous NH₃) rather than discharging it. Complements struvite crystallisation (which is Mg-limited and recovers only 10–30 % of N). Avoids the energy cost of nitrification + denitrification entirely when applied to concentrated side-streams.

Applications

  • Concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) manure treatment
  • Anaerobic digestion supernatant N recovery
  • Industrial high-N wastewater (food processing, leachate)
  • Standalone nutrient recovery as alternative to biological N removal