Page 2 - Emerging Technologies

Thanks to the promising portable filtration technology developed by researchers at the University of Texas in Austin, everyone in the world could one day have access to clean drinking water.

Aquagga, a startup from Tacoma, Washington, has introduced a game-changing PFAS destruction unit, "Eleanor," housed in a shipping container measuring just 10 feet by 8 feet. Eleanor recently made headlines by successfully tackling 20,000 gallons of toxic, PFAS-contaminated wastewater in Fairbanks, Alaska. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are persistent pollutants that have infiltrated drinking water sources across the United States due to their widespread use in various products.

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.