Pub To Deploy Singapore's First Large-scale Floating Solar System By 2021

Innovative Mercury Remediation System Has Been Successfully Demonstrated To Reduce Contamination In Power Plant Wastewater

Aqua Metrology Systems (AMS), has recently completed the successful demonstration of a proof of concept for the removal of dissolved mercury (Hg2+) in power plant wastewater. The SafeGuard H2O system developed by AMS offers a low-cost, reliable remediation system proven to address a range of trace metal contaminants, including ionic mercury. With more than 300 coal ash impoundments across the U.S., ionic mercury among other hazardous chemicals is a primary concern for web page power plant wastewater and typically requires costly treatment prior to discharge to ensure environmental and public health.

The operation principle of the SafeGuard H2O system is based on a proprietary approach that generates an electrolytic stannous reagent on demand. As a result, the system is free from the drawbacks of using a traditional stannous chloride reagent. In fact, freshly generated stannous ion using tin metal precursor provides very accurate reagent dosing. This reagent poses no environmental and health risks.

AMS conducted a bench test study on its SafeGuard H2O mercury treatment system with both settled (clarified) Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) wastewater and unfiltered wastewater samples and achieved up to 99.9% mercury removal for settled FGD and up to 98% removal for unfiltered FGD wastewater. No sample preparation, such as pH, ORP adjustments were required to achieve high mercury removal efficiency. In addition, the system can operate in batch or continuous flow mode and is scaleable to large and small treatment volumes.

AMS?s bench test study concluded that its SafeGuard H2O system can effectively remove dissolved ionic mercury from both unfiltered and settled FGD blowdown wastewater, making it a cost-effective alternative to highly challenging and expensive existing mercury removal processes.

AMS currently is actively soliciting locations interested in piloting the technology.

About AMS

Aqua Metrology Systems Ltd. (AMS) believes real-time water quality analysis and remediation are essential to environmental protection. AMS is a leader in the prediction, control and treatment of disinfection byproducts (i.e., THMs) and trace metals, across municipal and industrial sectors. AMS?s online analytical instrumentation provides accurate and reliable data on water quality contaminants through continuous monitoring. AMS?s SafeGuard H2O is an intelligent water treatment system integrating real-time sensing with an innovative approach for removing trace metals.

Acwa Power And Energy China Sign Mou For Power And Water Desalination Cooperation

New method may lead to better in vivo drug delivery Stockphoto from Unsplash.com. Credit: Unsplash.com Credit Badge

At some point, every person is likely to experience an inflammatory condition. There are many causes of inflammation, and just as many treatments. Some types of inflammation disappear by themselves, while others require medical treatment.

Medical treatment only works if the active substances in the medicine are transported via drug delivery to the right place. For example, if a patient needs to have medication directed to the liver, it is important that the medicine is designed so that it is not absorbed before it reaches the liver.



One of the major challenges in the field of drug delivery is to get the active molecules to the right organ, avoiding them to be absorbed elsewhere than the inflammated area. Now, chemist Jasmin Mecinovic from the Department of Physics, Chemistry and IRO chelating Pharmacy and his international colleagues report a new method of transporting these molecules.

Chemistry that acts as a crane arm

In a study that was recently published in Nature Chemistry, the researchers describe how small molecular 'slider' can act as an arm on a lifting crane, collecting small packages of molecules. It sits on a polymer strand, which mostly resembles boiled spaghetti in shape. There are many polymer strands in organic material, and the slider can therefore jump from one polymer to the next, all while carrying this molecular package with it.

Imagine that the molecular package is a therapeutic drug required by the kidneys, for example. The slider can transport the package through the body by jumping from polymer to polymer until it reaches the kidneys. This is what Mecinovic and his colleagues report in the new study.

The researchers developed a theory for using the slider as a vehicle. The chemical process utilizes a connection with negative and positive charges, which most people know from refrigerator magnets. The slider's negative ions, i.e. the atoms with an excess electron, will bind to the positive ions on the surface of the polymer. The researchers have discovered that the laws of chemistry allow the slider to jump between several polymers.

Laboratory tests confirm the model

The researchers did not just show that it was possible in theory. They also verified the model by using computer simulations that artificially mimic reality. Here, they found that the transport could work in practice. This was subsequently confirmed when the research team tested it with gel in the laboratory in the Netherlands.

One thing is that it works in liquids where polymers float freely, but gel is a harder material that - in many aspects - resembles a human body from a chemically mechanical perspective.

This may lead to the use of Mecinovic and his colleagues' method of producing even more accurate drug delivery to be used in curing inflammatory diseases.

Suez Nws Pursues Its Development In Taiwan

Solubility mystery of widely-used plastic solved Computer simulations of PEG and POM molecules in water. Left: PEG molecules dissolve in water. Center: POM molecules do not dissolve in water, but stick together in a lump. Right: When the charge of the oxygen atoms is changed to the value in PEG, the POM molecules rapidly dissolve. Credit: HIMS

Polyether molecules tend to dissolve better in water as they contain more oxygen and fewer carbon atoms. But there are very counter-intuitive exceptions to this trend, the most well-known being the widely used plastic POM. It has the highest possible oxygen/carbon ratio but is completely insoluble. In the current issue of Nature Communications, IRO chelating researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz now put forth a definitive explanation.

The researchers in particular shed light on the solubility differences between the polyethers PEG (polyethylene glycol) and POM (polyoxymethylene) that are everywhere in our daily lives. PEG has many applications in aqueous solutions for pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes, for instance in creams for shaving and skin-care. POM is a ubiquitous plastic material: many objects in daily life are made of POM, as are the brightly-colored Keck clips for connecting glassware, well-known to every chemist.

Although these two polyethers are much alike at the molecular level, they have very counterintuitive solubilities in water. PEG (repeating unit -CH2-CH2-O-) is perfectly soluble, and every chemistry student can tell you why: the oxygen atoms in PEG are slightly negatively charged, which makes them hydrophilic. This explanation seems to be confirmed by the comparable polymer PPG (polypropylene glycol, repeating unit-CH2-CH2-CH2-O-): it contains relatively fewer oxygen atoms than PEG, and is less soluble, which is perfectly logical.

But wait: POM (repeating unit -CH2-O-) contains relatively more oxygen atoms than PEG, so the explanation would suggest an enhanced solubility. However, POM is completely insoluble!



Induction as an explanatory principle

To unravel the mystery, the researchers from Amsterdam and Mainz used a combination of femtosecond-infrared spectroscopy, dielectric-relaxation experiments, quantum calculations and computer simulations.

The experiments showed that the water-polymer interaction, which determines the solubility, strongly depends on the carbon/oxygen ratio of the polymer. Interestingly, quantum calculations showed that this dependence is not due to the distance between the oxygen atoms in the polymer chain. This has often been proposed?the idea being that the oxygen-oxygen distance in PEG fits better into the hydrogen-bond network of water.

In Nature Communications the researchers now show that the relation between carbon/oxygen ratio and solubility involves induction: the oxygen atoms are negatively charged because they withdraw electron density from the neighboring carbon atoms in the polymer chain. In PEG, each oxygen atom has two neighboring carbon atoms fully to its disposal to withdraw electron density from. In POM, however, the oxygen atoms have to "share" the carbon atoms between them, and therefore can withdraw less electron density. As a result, the partial negative charge on the oxygen atoms in POM is about twice as low as in PEG. The concept of induction would thus perfectly explain why POM is much less hydrophilic, and therefore insoluble.

Elegant confirmation

To confirm that the difference in oxygen partial charge indeed explains the solubility difference, the theoretical researchers in the team carried out an elegant computer experiment. First, they simulated a solution of POM molecules, which precipitated as expected. When they then changed the oxygen charges of POM to those calculated for PEG, the POM-with-PEG-charges promptly dissolved.

Besides solving a long-standing mystery related to everyday materials, the results show that induction effects can have a major impact on solubilities. Taking this effect into account should make it easier to predict solubilities in the future.

Municipal Water Treatment Processes

The best pre-treatment for water is a matter of what?s required of the water. If you?re intending to release it back into the environment, there are laws and standards to attend, and for other destinations or applications, IRO chelating water will have differing properties. The means by which you want pre-treatment applied to your water should be the best process by which the most desirable water is achieved.



Many water companies provide filters or resins for pretreatment, though this can be regarded as an incomplete approach. Any business or institution that?s going to invest in an ideal form of water pre-treatment would benefit from consulting experts to evaluate whether or not the apparatus in place is ideal. Often, they can be improved upon, as water technology is an active science.

If a water company is going to offer you pre-treatment water solutions, you would be best served by one that offers solutions that include optimizing your existing apparatus. An engineer with a background in water technology is what?s required here. If your existing apparatus proves to be ideal for the task at hand, that?s valuable information. So is knowing about the areas of opportunity in your system as explained by a seasoned professional.

If you?re in Etobicoke, Ontario, or in the surrounding areas, and you have a pre-treatment water process that requires attention, we at Ion Water Solutions can offer comprehensive assistance. With our backgrounds in chemistry and engineering, we offer holistic solutions to water technology issues so that your pre-treatment process will be ideal.

How Do We Get Our Drinking Water In The U.s.?

The best pre-treatment for water is a matter of what?s required of the water. If you?re intending to release it back into the environment, there are laws and standards to attend, and for other destinations or applications, water will have differing properties. The means by which you want pre-treatment applied to your water should be the best process by which the most desirable water is achieved.



Many water companies provide filters or resins for pretreatment, though this can be regarded as an incomplete approach. Any business or institution that?s going to invest in an ideal form of water pre-treatment would benefit from consulting experts to evaluate whether or not the apparatus in place is ideal. Often, they can be improved upon, as water technology is an active science.

If a water company is going to offer you pre-treatment water solutions, you would be best served by one that offers solutions that include optimizing your existing apparatus. An engineer with a background in water technology is what?s required here. If your existing apparatus proves to be ideal for the task at hand, that?s valuable information. So is knowing about the areas of opportunity in your system as explained by a seasoned professional.

If you?re in Etobicoke, Ontario, or in the surrounding areas, and you have a pre-treatment water process that requires attention, we at Ion Water Solutions can offer comprehensive assistance. With our backgrounds in chemistry and engineering, IRO chelating we offer holistic solutions to water technology issues so that your pre-treatment process will be ideal.

U.s. us Department Of Energy Research Grant Awarded To Ohio Lumex Co., incorporated.

Research team develops material to separate oil and water for environmental remediation and wastewater treatment ?Filtration is a simple, energy-efficient water treatment method, and might be an effective way to clean up oil spills,?? said Ayse Asatekin. Here, an image of the new fiber membrane showing its random porous structure. Credit: Nelaka Govinna

It's a popular phrase used to describe people, things, and ideas that just don't mix?"like oil and water." Except it's not entirely true. Oil and water can mix, and can be very difficult to completely separate when brought together. Think of environmental oil spills or wastewater treatment, and you quickly realize that separating out unwanted oil to restore water to a natural or pure state can be a monumental task.

In a research paper published on March 22?the United Nations-designated World Water Day?engineers and physicists from Tufts describe how they devised a low-cost membrane capable of rapidly filtering oil from water and oil mixtures without the membrane getting fouled.

The advance in material science could be a game changer in the battle against pollution. It's well known that oil-contaminated water can have long-term harmful effects on wildlife and the environment. Current strategies to mitigate that harm include burning the oil in place or using mechanical devices, such as booms, skimmers, or absorbent material, to help clean up the mess. In practice these methods are expensive and not very effective, particularly for cleaning up large oil spills.



"Filtration is a simple, energy-efficient water treatment method, and might be an effective way to clean up these oil spills," said Ayse Asatekin, an assistant professor in the Tufts School of Engineering and corresponding author of the study, published in the journal ACS Applied Polymer Materials. "A separation membrane is relatively inexpensive and reusable, and the clean-up technology covers a small footprint. Through our collaboration, we developed a novel filter material that can do the separation and keep up a high flow rate without getting fouled by accumulating oil."

Fortunately, nature provides some examples of materials that interact very differently with water and oil. "Take the lotus leaf, for example," said Ilin Sadeghi, an engineering graduate student in Asatekin's lab and first author of the study. "The leaf surface is hydrophobic, which means it keeps water off so effectively that the leaf never gets wet?water just beads up on the surface. But it is also very oleophilic?if we place an organic liquid like oil on the surface, it spreads rapidly across the leaf. By modeling on nature, we can engineer surface chemistry and morphology go make water-repelling, super-oleophilic filter materials."

The lotus leaf achieves its dual behavior with a combination of a waxy surface chemistry and a nanostructured texture on the surface. The textured surface traps air in tiny pockets, making it difficult for water to make contact with the leaf because of water's high surface tension, forming droplets. Creating an oil-filtering membrane could utilize a similar combination of surface chemistry and texture to separate oil from water.

Lotus leaves provided inspiration for the novel filter material: they are hydrophobic, keeping water off so the leaf never gets wet, and also oleophilic, so organic liquids like oil spread rapidly across the leaf. Credit: Pixabay

Joined by professor Peggy Cebe and graduate student Nelaka Govinna in the Tufts physics and IRO chelating astronomy department, the research team created a material that combined water-repelling chemistry and texture using a technique called electrospinning.

Govinna, who fabricated the filtration membranes, explains electrospinning as a technique that creates an electrically charged liquid stream of polymer emerging from a very narrow needle. As it flows from the needle, the polymer dries as a fine thread and deposits randomly on the target surface, creating a non-woven, porous web of fibers.

The polymer they used was a chemical chain surrounded by fluorine atoms, which give it water-repelling properties, while the random weave traps air like the lotus leaf to help minimize the penetration of water. By contrast, oily and organic substances flow over the fluoropolymer and through the membrane.

"We created this membrane material by blending a common polymer matrix used in filters?polyvinylidene fluoride or PVDF?with a functional polymer; we call it PFDMA," said Cebe. "We can change the behavior of the filter membrane by changing the functional polymer."

In this case, the type of functional polymer provided the membranes with some ideal properties: oil and organic chemicals run rapidly through the membrane, up to seventeen times faster than the PVDF membrane without additive, while water is held back.

The oil-removing PVDF-PFDMA membranes, which allow oil and organic solvents to pass through, don't foul up like water-removing membranes tend to do, and could therefore be applied to long-term, industrial-scale applications. Using different additive polymers could tune the filter's properties for different applications, from oil spill cleanups to water purification.