overview- the smart shirt
- PREDICTING EARTHQUAKES FROM SPACE
- THE SAFER BARRIER
- MICROSCOPIC WIRES DETECT CANCERS
- DETECTING "DIRTY BOMBS"
- MINI-ROBOT RECONNAISSANCE TEAM
- CLEANER WATER THROUGH NEW TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY
- A BETTER HEARING AID MODELED ON A FLY'S EAR
- CHEAP, CLEAN, RENEWABLE NON-POLLUTING FUEL FROM PLANT WASTES AND UNIVERSITY SCIENCE
- FUELING THE CLEAN CAR
- RESTORING SIGHT IN BLIND PATIENTS
- SPY PLANES THAT FLY ON WINGS OF SEAGULLS
- SOLAR ENERGY FROM THE WINDY CITY
- TINY PARTICLES DELIVER CURES
- THE HANDYLAB--INSTANT DNA TESTING
CLEANER WATER THROUGH NEW TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY
Communities and factories throughout the country can clean their wastewater to meet more exacting federal standards, thanks to a new technology developed at the University of Idaho, with help from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
When they clean their discharged water, the treatment plants need to get rid of almost all the phosphorus. That’s because too much phosphorus encourages the rampant growth of algae—and too much algae pollutes the water and kills the fish. In the past, water treatment systems have only had to reduce phosphorus levels to 500 parts per billion. Now, in many places, including the Spokane River in the Northwestern states, proposed federal regulations set the maximum phosphorus level at 50 parts per billion.
That means water treatment systems must become much more effective—and that’s why a new filtration system is so important. With funding from the EPA, University of Idaho Environmental Chemistry Professor Greg Möller and Environmental Engineering Affiliate Faculty Remy Newcombe developed a new water filtration agent—sand coated with iron oxide. This specially coated sand is unusually adsorbent, taking phosphorus and other pollutants out of the solution as wastewater flows through the large tanks. The system then pumps out the water, leaving the sand which now contains the phosphorus and other harmful substances.
Now, the new treatment system is being developed and marketed by Blue Water Technologies, a company based in Hayden, Idaho. Together with the city of Hayden, the company has founded a research facility that is exploring whether the treatment process can also remove other pollutants, such as endocrine disrupting chemicals (e.g. birth control pills, antidepressants, etc.), from wastewater, which not only harm fish and other aquatic wildlife populations, but which can also contaminate human drinking water supplies.
Cleaner water and new technologies—the EPA’s initial investment in university research is continuing to produce new benefits.
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