Science and Enterprise

Tag: water

  • Universities, Brewery Partner on Biofuels from Brewery Waste

    Researchers from Anheuser-Busch Inbev Inc. in St. Louis, Missouri  and three universities have discovered stable microbe communities in brewery sludge with the potential to produce the basic building blocks of fuels. Their findings appear in the 22 February online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The team from Cornell University, University…

  • Nanotech Emergency Water Treatment Technology Devised

    Chemistry researchers at McGill University in Montreal, Canada have developed a technology for a cheap, portable, paper-based water treatment system when disasters like floods or earthquakes strike. The team’s findings were published earlier this month in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (paid subscription required). The researchers, led by industrial chemistry professor Derek Gray,…

  • Grad Student Creates, Markets Rural Water Conveyance Device

    Cynthia Koenig, a business school graduate student at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, created a rolling water barrel and started an enterprise to distribute the device in developing countries. Koenig plans to pilot test the device, called the WaterWheel, in India. The WaterWheel is a 20-gallon rolling plastic barrel that provides enough water for…

  • Consortium to Study Ocean Potential for Carbon Storage

    The new ISIS (In-Situ Iron Studies) Consortium announced today its plans to study the role of iron in regulating the ocean’s capacity to remove atmospheric carbon dioxide.  The group of scientists from 12 institutions worldwide aims to better understand the impact of iron on marine ecosystems and to quantify its potential for CO2 removal. The…

  • Research Collaboration Developing More Robust Rice

    A partnership between the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is developing new varieties of rice designed to grow under tough conditions by the poorest farmers. The early results of the project are reported in the January issue of the magazine Rice Today, published by IRRI. Green Super Rice…

  • Engineering Prof. Computes Available Biofuel Crop Lands

    A detailed land analysis by researchers at University of Illinois in Champaign found that biofuel crops cultivated on available land could produce up to half of the world’s current fuel consumption, without affecting food crops or grazing land for livestock. Engineering professor Ximing Cai and two colleagues published their findings last month in the journal…

  • Univ. Engineers Develop New Sewage Treatment Device

    Research engineers at University of Utah in Salt Lake City have developed and commercialized an alternative device to help growing communities deal with sewage treatment. The device, known as Poo-Gloos because of their igloo-like shape (pictured right), supplement wastewater lagoons often used for sewage treatment, particularly in small, rural towns. Kraig Johnson and research colleagues…

  • ‘Green’ Treatments Fail to Stop Bacteria in Commercial A/C

    A recent study by University of Pittsburgh researchers indicates that non-chemical water-treatment devices may not work as they claim and can allow dangerous bacteria to flourish in the cooling systems of hospitals and commercial offices, almost as much as they do in untreated water. The university says the study, conducted by its school of engineering,…

  • Researchers Find High Temperatures Can Kill Superbug Genes

    New findings by civil engineering researchers at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis show that treating municipal wastewater solids at higher temperatures can help fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections, but the growing presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria — called superbugs — has raised concerns about the future effectiveness of antibiotics.…

  • Sensor Gives Faster Soil Erosion Test on Structures

    Researchers from North Carolina State University in Raleigh have developed a sensor that allows engineers to assess the scour potential of soils at various depths and on-site. This technology, for the first time, can help evaluate the safety of civil infrastructure before and after storm events. Called the “in situ scour evaluation probe,” the sensor…