International » Recent Knowledge Transfer News and Events
New Catalyst Removes Harmful Perchlorate from Groundwater
WaterCAMPWS researcher John Shapley and his graduate student have developed a new chemical catalyst that uses hydrogen gas to efficiently remove and destroy harmful perchlorate in contaminated groundwater. Perchlorate is a toxin readily soluble in water that is particularly dangerous to infants and fetuses. Existing technologies can concentrate and remove perchlorate from drinking water, but disposal, cost, and practicality are still a problems. Shapley's development, however, actually destroys percholorate, and does it much more cheaply.
Science Article Features Two WaterCAMPWS Investigators
In a recent article, Science Magazine addresses the growing need for clean water, and discusses new avenues of research in desalination technology as a way to meet that need. Anne Mayes and Menachem Elimelech, both of whom are WaterCAMPWS researchers in ICT I, were featured in the article. Read the full article at the Science website.
Analytical Chemistry Publishes Water Treatment Analysis, Featuring in Part the WaterCAMPWS
With the assistance of the WaterCAMPWS, the journal Analytical Chemistry has published an analysis of water treatment issues and advances in the developing world. One technological advance discussed in the article is the DNA-based lead sensor developed by WaterCAMPWS researcher Yi Lu. To read the entire article, follow the link below.
PDF of entire Analytical Chemistry article
WaterCAMPWS Delivers Technology Briefing to Federal and State Regulators
Richard Sustich, the Industrial and Governmental Development Manager for WaterCAMPWS, delivered a briefing on developments in water purification technology at the State-US EPA Innovations Symposium, January 23-25, 2006 in Denver, Colorado. The symposium, sponsored by the National Center for Environmental Innovation of the US EPA and The Council for Excellence in Government, attracted more than 500 representatives from federal and state regulatory agencies and research centers. His presentation was part of a session entitled, The Next Industrial Revolution: What Is An Environmental Agency To Do?
The most significant finding of the session was that a majority of practicing environmental professionals at are insufficiently aware of the array of new technologies that are already available, in pilot scale testing or on the drawing boards
For more information on the National Center for Environmental Innovation, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/ncei/
For more information on The Council for Excellence in Government, please visit: http://www.excelgov.org/index.php
WaterCAMPWS Advises US EPA Science Advisory Board on Homeland Security Issues and Water Sentinel Program
Richard Sustich, the Industrial and Governmental Development Manager for WaterCAMPWS, has been appointed as an independent expert to the Science Advisory Board of the US EPA, Homeland Security Advisory Committee. The committee met January 30-31, 2006 in Washington, DC to review and provide advice to US EPA on the design and implementation of the Water Sentinel, advanced pilot system initiated by the US EPS for detecting natural and terror-related contamination events impacting the drinking water supply of the nation.
Under Homeland Security Presidential Directive Nos. 7 and 9, US EPA is charged with protecting the drinking water supply of the country and water treatment utilities through collaboration with Federal, State and local governments, by conducting vulnerability assessments at utility facilities, and by encouraging risk management strategies to protect facilities against and mitigate the effects of attacks on critical water infrastructure and key resources. For more information on Science Advisory Board of the EPA, visit: http://www.epa.gov/sab/.
WaterCAMPWS Provides Futures Perspective to EPA Office of Water at Strategic Planning Workshop
In October, Richard Sustich, the Industrial and Governmental Development Manager for WaterCAMPWS and member of the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT), delivered a briefing on future water issues and technology developments to US EPA Office of Water Senior Managers in a workshop at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars in Washington, DC as part of the EPA 2006-2011 Strategic Plan process.
The five-year Strategic Plan will set the EPA regulatory and research agendas, as well as the goals and means for protecting the environment of the nation. At the urging of NACEPT, the US EPA Chief Financial Officer convened the series of workshops with Agency Senior Managers and external experts with the goal of incorporating futures research into the strategic planning process of the Agency.
US EPA 2006-2011 Strategic Plan will be released in May. For more information, visit http://epa.gov/ocfo/plan/plan.htm.
For more on NACEPT, visit: http://www.epa.gov/ocem/nacept/
WaterCAMPWS and Chicago Wastewater Utility Move Forward with Chlorine-Free Disinfection Testing
WaterCAMPWS and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) are finalizing plans to test a new, chlorine-free disinfection process for municipal wastewater effluents.
Developed by WaterCAMPWS researcher Jian-Ku Shang, the process uses titanium-based quaternary oxide photocatalyts to destroy waterborne pathogens under visible light. The photocatalysts also have application for destruction of persistent contaminants such as pharmaceuticals in municipal wastewaters. Researchers will evaluate the effectiveness of several different forms of the photocatalysts using wastewaters from a number process trains at MWRD water reclamation plants.
Photocatalytic disinfection has the potential to substantially reduce disinfection costs for wastewater utilities while minimizing the generation of undesirable chemical byproducts that result from current, chlorine-based disinfection practices. Additional promising applications include on-demand disinfection for combined sewer overflows (CSO) in municipal services areas without the need to store potentially hazardous chlorine substances in the community.
For more information on disinfection research by the WaterCAMPWS, visit: http://www.watercampws.uiuc.edu/index.php?menu_item_id=24.
For more information on MWRD, visit: http://mwrd.org/.
Zhang and Granick Charge Repulsion Work Cited in Science Editors Choice
Novel materials science research by Liangfang Zhang and Steve Granick of The WaterCAMPWS was cited in Editors Choice in the March 10, 2006 issue of Science. Zhang and Granick successfully stabilized a liposome suspension for 50 days through adhesion of negatively charged nanoparticles to the liposome surfaces. Liposomes, microscopic compartments surrounded by phospholipid bilayer shells, are being investigated for use in targeted drug delivery. Unmodified liposomes are vulnerable to fusion when they collide, resulting in premature release of their contents.
While currently focused on medical and material applications, theirresearch may aid in the development of functionalized membranes and other surfaces that resist biofouling by repelling microbes at the point of attachment. Biofouling is a significant cause of impaired performance in water treatment systems.
For more information on the research by Zhang and Granick, visit: http://www.scs.uiuc.edu/chem/granick.htm.
Susan Herricks to Host Student Networking Event at National Environmental Partnership Summit, WaterCAMPWS Students Volunteer to Mentor Summit Attendees
Susan Herricks, WaterCAMPWS Education Coordinator, will host the first-ever Student Networking event at the National Environmental Partnership Summit, May 8-11, 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Summit, co-organized by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable, and the Performance Track Participants Association, brings together more than 800 environmental regulators, compliance assistance and pollution prevention providers, and industry managers to explore the theme of environmental stewardship through presentations, workshops and networking sessions.
New at the Summit this year will be a Student Day, which includes presentations by and for high school and college students spread throughout the day, along with the Student Networking event. WaterCAMPWS students from Clark Atlanta University have volunteered to mentor out-of-town students participating in the Summit, and will work with Ms. Herricks to recruit attendees to participate in the WaterCAMPWS WaterTEC Summer Workshop for high school students and to apply to WaterCAMPWS member universities.
For more information on the National Environmental Partnership Summit, visit: http://www.environmentalsummit.org.
