Bacteria often get bad press, with those found in water often linked to illness and disease. But researchers at The University of Nottingham are using these tiny organisms alongside the very latest membrane filtration techniques to improve and refine water cleaning technology.
These one-celled organisms eat the contaminants present in water — whether it is being treated prior to industrial use or even for drinking — in a process called bioremediation.
The water is then filtered through porous membranes, which function like a sieve. However, the holes in these sieves are microscopic, and some are so small they can only be seen at the nanoscale. Pore size in these filters can range from ten microns — ten thousandths of a millimetre — to one nanometre — a millionth of a millimetre.
These technologies can be developed into processes which optimise the use of water — whether in an industrial system or to provide drinking water in areas where it is a scarce resource.
The research is led by Nidal Hilal, Professor of Chemical and Process Engineering in the Centre for Clean Water Technologies — a world-leading research centre developing advanced technologies in water treatment.
Current membrane technology used in water treatment processes can decrease in efficiency over time, as the membranes become fouled with contaminants. By using bioremediation the membranes can be cleaned within the closed system, without removing the membranes. Researchers at the centre have developed the technology in partnership with Cardev International, an oil filtration company based in Harrogate.
As well as being highly effective in the water treatment process, transforming industrial liquid waste contaminated with metals and oils into clean water, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration membranes have a useful side effect. The waste products have a very high calorific value, and can be used as fuel.
Nanofiltration and ultrafiltration membranes are also being used in work funded by the Middle East Desalination Research Centre, which looks at creating drinking water from seawater. By pre-treating the seawater and removing contaminants, the membranes reduce the fouling of machinery in the next stage of the process — whether through reverse osmosis or thermal desalination. This can prevent damage to the machinery, reducing the need for expensive repair and replacements.
And by measuring liquid properties at the nanoscale, using state-of-the-art atomic force microscope equipment at the University, researchers are exploring how liquids behave at an atomic level — how they flow and pull apart. These results could be used in mechanics and industry, for example, maximising the use of oil in an engine.
Liquids are also being tested at a range of temperatures, from the very low (-50 oC) to the very high (150 oC).
Professor Hilal said: “Examining the properties of liquids has never been done before at this scale.
“By using bioremediation and nanofiltration technology combined, the water cleaning process is integrated — using far less energy than current processes. Add to this the recycling of waste products as fuels and you have a greener technology.”
Source: University of Nottingham
Related stories:
Findings a step toward making new optical materials
Chemical engineers have developed a "self-assembling" method that could lead to an inexpensive way of making diamondlike crystals to improve optical communications and other technologies.
Researchers develop computer model to study cell membrane dynamics
A cell constantly remodels its fluid membranes to carry out critical tasks, such as recognizing other cells, getting nutrients or sorting proteins. Because membranes are fluid and intrinsically disordered, investigating these and other life-sustaining processes in detail has always been difficult. But a computer model developed by Markus Deserno, associate professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon University, provides a new approach by allowing him to simulate and observe membrane dynamics at a relatively large scale -- hundreds of nanometers. It is at this scale that many critical membrane-mediated processes take place.
Self-Assembled Materials Form Mini Stem Cell Lab
Imagine having one polymer and one small molecule that instantly assemble into a flexible but strong sac in which you can grow human stem cells, creating a sort of miniature laboratory. And that sac, if used for cell therapy, could cloak the stem cells from the human body’s immune system and biodegrade upon arriving at its destination, releasing the stem cells to do their work.
Discovery about fertilization points way to possible malaria vaccine
International investigations of an organism that one UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher calls a “silly little green scum” have led to key insights into the basic mechanisms of reproduction.
Cellular Construction Methods Emulated
Not only is our body made of individual organs, our cells themselves are made of tiny organelles, a variety of separate compartments that fulfill different tasks. Such functional, nanostructured systems would also be useful for technical applications, such as biosensors, self-repairing materials, optoelectronic components, or nanocapsules.
Nanopores That Can Recognize, Separate Proteins and Small Molecules
Nanopores, holes less than one-thousand the width of a human hair, are capable of isolating strands of DNA or therapeutic drugs from a solution, based mostly on the size of the pores. Now, a chemist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has created nanopores that can recognize and interact with certain molecules, actively controlling their movement across synthetic membranes. Results were published online Feb. 3 in
Nature Nanotechnology.
Bacteria and nanofilters -- the future of clean water technology
Bacteria often get bad press, with those found in water often linked to illness and disease. But researchers at The University of Nottingham are using these tiny organisms alongside the very latest membrane filtration techniques to improve and refine water cleaning technology.
Cells Get Sprayed
Genetically engineered products have become indispensable. For example, genetically modified bacteria produce human insulin. In future, gene therapy should make it possible to introduce genes into the cells of a diseased organism so that they can address deficiencies to compensate for malfunctions in the body.