Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology blog

US researchers have demonstrated that biochar, essentially burnt plants, can remove pharmaceuticals from urine waste streams. The findings could help recycle urine into agricultural fertilisers.

Human urine is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus – just what plants need. However, human urine can also contain pharmaceuticals, the release of which cause worrying developmental effects in aquatic ecosystems, hampering its use as a fertiliser. While some wastewater treatment plants recover nutrients from urine and wastewater, they do not typically remove pharmaceuticals. Current pharmaceutical removal systems involve membranes, electrodialysis and activated carbon, but they can be costly, energy intensive and unsustainable.

Source: © Royal Society of Chemistry

Now, Avni Solanki from the University of Florida and Treavor Boyer from Arizona State University, have studied biochar, a precursor to activated carbon, to see if it could work as a viable alternative

Read the full article in Chemistry World.

Having investigated the fate of microplastics in different wastewater treatment processes, scientists in the US found that most plants are not designed to fully remove the small litter particles.

Microplastics are tiny particles (<5 mm in size) that arise from the degradation of larger plastics in the ocean as well as direct release from common household products such as toothpaste. Their full potential impact on aquatic ecosystems is still unknown, but they can be ingested by small organisms and may release harmful chemicals.

Melissa Duhaime and colleagues from the University of Michigan now compared the effectiveness of wastewater treatment plants using three different clean-up methods.

Read the full article in Chemistry World.

Researchers in the US have discovered that microorganisms in wastewater grease traps may aggravate fat, oil and grease deposits in sewers – a problem that these traps are designed to reduce.

In light of this research, Yan advises grease interceptor designers to consider microbial activity to maximise their effectiveness. Raffaella Villa, an expert in waste management at the Cranfield Water Sciences Institute, UK, however urges readers not to misinterpret the findings: ‘Although the results could be very helpful in designing separation processes … grease interceptors, if well designed and regularly maintained, are a very effective way of reducing the total deposit load in sewers.’

Read the full article in Chemistry World!

Read the original research paper in Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology for free:

Impact of microbial activities and hydraulic retention time on the production and profile of long chain fatty acids in grease interceptors: a laboratory study
Xia He and Tao Yan
Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2016, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C6EW00013D, Paper

US researchers have found that strategies for conserving water in green buildings can lead to higher levels of bacteria in the plumbing systems, with potentially serious implications for public health.

William Rhoads and colleagues at Virginia Tech conducted a survey of the drinking water quality in different types of green building, from an office to a net-zero energy home. They measured the chlorine levels, temperature and microbial content, including the prevalence of Legionella bacteria, the cause of Legionnaires’ disease. […]

Read the full article in Chemistry World!

Read the original research paper in Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology for free:

Survey of green building water systems reveals elevated water age and water quality concerns
William J. Rhoads, Amy Pruden and Marc A. Edwards
Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C5EW00221D, Paper

A UK researcher has proposed a new process to decompose waste desalination brine using solar energy that could allow desalination plants to act as a sink rather than a source of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and help to neutralise ocean acidity.

Phil Renforth, a geo-environmental engineer from Cardiff University, highlights that a major advantage of Davies’ process is that it can be appended to existing technology. ‘This approach may allow the industry to transform itself from a carbon dioxide villain into a force for good in the climate change debate.’


Read the full article in Chemistry World.


Read the full research paper for free* in Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology:
Solar thermal decomposition of desalination reject brine for carbon dioxide removal and neutralisation of ocean acidity
P. A. Davies
Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2015, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C4EW00058G, Communication