Stanford University researchers have created a water-purifying nanoparticle, which they are able to recover, rendering the treated water safe for human consumption. The engineers made a nanoscavenger with a synthetic core that is ultraresponsive to magnetism, enabling the purifying substance to be easily and efficiently recovered. The addition of nanoparticles to water...
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Many challenges are associated with growing water scarcity, not the least of which is the pressing question about how restricted water availability may change the global energy industry. The energy industry reportedly uses 23% of fresh water globally and 40% of water in the United States. Growing demand for water in the face of ongoing drought and dwindling reserves is...
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A team of researchers from Australia and France have reportedly developed a light, recyclable and porous material that promises to help clean up polluted waters. Scientists from the Institute for Frontier Materials at Deakin University in Australia and France’s Pierre and Marie Curie University created nanosheets of boron nitride, also known as white graphene. These are...
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When a United States resident turns on the kitchen tap, water flows out. It’s a luxury much of the world doesn’t enjoy, yet a fifth of Americans reportedly aren’t satisfied with the taste of their drinking water. Their complaint? Water tastes too much like, well, water. This is spurring the growth of a new beverage product — sugar-free water additives. When...
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A new material developed by Australian researchers promises to purify water polluted by oil-based contaminants. The precisely engineered silica material, created by University of South Australia School of Engineering researchers with scientists from Mawson Institute, acts as a magnet for any oil in the water. When the silica particles are spread over the water, they...
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The city of Flagstaff continues mulling its next step in investigating the quality of its reclaimed wastewater in order to determine if it poses a health risk to those using city parks and sports fields. An 11-member advisory panel, which consists of hydrologists, microbiologists, and physicians, has not been able to reach consensus on its recommendations to the city...
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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering various options designed to reduce the release of toxic substances into the nation’s waterways from electrical power generating plants. The proposed rule change was submitted in April 2013 and covers wastewater discharges from those power plants operating as utilities. The discharges from...
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The Hopi Tribe earned a procedural legal victory 25 April in its efforts to end effluent-based snowmaking at Arizona Snowbowl. The Arizona Court of Appeals overturned a 2011 ruling by former Coconino County Superior Court Judge Joe Lodge that allows the tribe to file a new case in the matter. The Northern Arizona ski resort became the first facility in the world to...
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Scientists from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand are exploring the use of waste mussel shells for treating challenging wastewater, particularly acid mine drainage. The problem exists in several mining sites in that nation as well as worldwide. University researchers say the problem is “significant” throughout the world, “with thousands of kilometres of...
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As fresh water resources continue dwindling, the race is on to identify how water is being used. The single largest water-using industry on the planet is agriculture. The combination of growing populations, climate change, and decreasing supplies is pressuring farmers and governments to examine practices and institute innovative solutions for saving water. Newly...
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The global mining industry finds itself in the midst of a water shortage, a situation that’s expected to become increasingly worse with dwindling fresh water supplies. Conditions are such, note financial analysts, that lack of water could ultimately slow, if not halt, operations, particularly new projects. The costs associated with building regulatory-compliant...
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Saltwater desalination is an established technology, but the process has a reputation for being energy-hungry and expensive. The process — which essentially involves boiling water, then letting the captured steam condense into fresh water — has changed little since its discovery. “[O]cean water is a nearly unlimited supply [of water], if we’re clever...
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The perennially dry and water-stressed Kingdom of Saudi Arabia depends on desalination to supplement its water needs, but as that dependence increases, so too does the government’s need for more energy-efficient approaches to producing water. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is reportedly the world’s largest producer of desalinated water. There are no permanent bodies of...
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Desalination technology is being increasingly used to insure residents of water-stressed regions have access to clean, fresh water. Scientists continue exploring and refining technology. The latest desalination research originates in South Korea, where Moon Hee Han from Chungnam National University and Dong Kook Kim from the Korea Institute of Energy Research led a...
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With the purchase of Tipton Environmental International, Inc., an Ohio-based firm, Aeromix adds packaged wastewater treatment to its offerings. Peter Gross, Aeromix’s chief executive officer, says this strategic purchase “fits like a glove into what we’re doing internationally as well as domestically […] in small to medium-sized communities and...
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There’s now a compelling reason New Jersey is called The Garden State. Just look at the series of seemingly simple gardening projects throughout the state, supported by The Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program and the state’s county extension offices. In addition to adding beauty to their surroundings, the gardens help manage stormwater runoff by...
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A new report from the American Society of Civil Engineers gives the United States’ water infrastructure near-failing grades and blames the problem on a combination of deferred maintenance and lack of investment. The society, which releases its “Report Card for America’s Infrastructure“ every four years, stated that the status of the nation’s drinking...
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Proposed legislation could make biogas eligible for a renewable tax credit if United States anaerobic digester operators add their gas to natural gas pipelines or offer it as fleet vehicle fuel. Qualifying biogas generation projects could be granted a 30% investment tax credit if the bill passes. Currently, only those biogas projects that generate electricity are eligible...
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Water scarcity and drought, although frequently discussed in tandem, are two very different water issues. Recently published research by Dutch scientists endeavors to both explain and distinguish these two conditions. They developed a model able to separate those human factors contributing to water resource overuse from naturally occurring events straining supplies. The...
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The Natural Resources Defense Council has elicited the support of 21 craft breweries for clean water throughout the United States. An estimated 90% of each tall, cool draught beer is water. What spurred the campaign, in which breweries are both pledging to maintain clean brewing strategies and promote community education on clean water, is the need to “protect” the...
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