Page 2 - Emerging Technologies

Microplastic pollution is rapidly becoming one of the biggest challenges the world is facing today. These tiny plastic particles, measuring up to 5mm in diameter, can be found in soils, freshwater, oceans, and even in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has announced plans to provide nearly $10 million in funding for seven pioneering initiatives to speed up the progress and evaluation of marine energy technologies. Marine energy sources, such as waves, tides, and ocean and river currents, show great potential as they are easily accessible, and predictable, and can be combined with other renewable energy options like solar, wind, and geothermal energy [1]

A data logging kit is an electronic instrument used for recording and storing data over a specific duration. This encompasses a wide range of devices for acquiring data, such as plug-in boards or serial communication systems that utilize a computer as a means of real-time data capture and storage.

Cross-Flow Velocity (CFV) is the linear velocity of the flow tangential to the membrane surface and is reported in [m/sec] or [ft/sec]. It refers to the velocity at which a fluid or gas flows across a solid surface or through a porous medium. It is a key test parameter to investigate in various fields and applications due to its significant impact on fluid dynamics, heat transfer, and mass transfer processes.

Microplastics, tiny pieces of plastic measuring less than 5mm in diameter, are a growing concern due to their environmental persistence and negative impact on both environmental and human health. Microplastics originate from a wide range of industrial and consumer sources, including pharmaceuticals.

A 2017 study(1) estimates that up to 2.41 million tons of plastic enters the ocean via rivers every year, but if one includes all land-based sources of plastic, the total amount of plastic entering the oceans each year could be higher than 12 million tons(2).  One of the biggest hurdles to solving the marine plastics problem is that no matter how fast we remove it from our oceans and beaches, there is a steady flow entering the oceans every day. In order to make any headway, we need to not only tackle the plastic that is already in the ocean, we also need to eradicate plastic pollution at the source to prevent it from getting into the ocean in the first place. Scientists have now created a super-powered mutant enzyme that is designed to quickly degrade plastic into components suitable for reuse, which could be a game-changer.

Marine plastic debris is one of the biggest environmental problems of our time. Plastics are found in all corners of the world’s ocean, from the surface down to the seabed, and pollutes even the most remote beaches all across the world. Because plastic is so durable, it doesn’t simply break down in the environment, but rather slowly disintegrates into tiny bits of plastic which float on the surface or are suspended in the water column before finally sinking to the seafloor where they accumulate over time.

As the coronavirus pandemic persists into 2022, medical experts are pressed to discover options for treating Covid-19. According to scientists at Northwestern Medicine and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, natural nanobubbles containing the ACE2 protein (evACE2) in the blood of COVID-19 patients have been found as one possible cure. In preclinical experiments, they discovered that these nanoparticles could prevent infection from a wide range of SARS-CoV-2 virus strains.

Water scarcity is a global concern that’s become more complicated due to demographic growth and climate change, prompting the search for alternative resources. In many parts of the world, two of the most practical and achievable methods to securing water are desalination and wastewater reuse. For decades, membrane-based technologies have been widely used for water treatment due to accessibility, simple operation, adaptability to various feed compositions and operation pressures, and consideration for the environment,  unlike chemical or thermal approaches. However, only in recent decades have options for reducing, recycling, or reusing elements been investigated (Prince, et al., 2011).