4 Innovations Transforming Wastewater into Clean H20Dirty water
gets a makeover with these four creative ways of harnessing waste
into potable water.May 25, 2015Tags:Water,Wastewater,Clean,H20
This glass of refreshing water could very well have been sourced
from wastewater. [Shutterstock]Your face may cringe when you think
about drinking sewage water, but innovations are underway to make
wastewater safe for consumption.Clean and potable water is a
precious commodity, which is why scientists and environmentalists
are looking towards transforming dirty water into tasty and clean
H20. The wastewater to clean water push shines a light on
sustainability, showing how a mix of science plus the drive to
maximize existing resources, results in a cleaner and healthier
planet for all.1. RAISING A TOAST TO BEER MADE FROM TREATED
WASTEWATERIf you are of drinking age and looking for a nice cool
lager, the next beer you drink could contain treated wastewater. In
Oregon, the local governments environmental panel has OKd a plan
forlocal breweries to use recycled sewage water. The first brewery
up to bat is the Oregon Brew Crew that will receive the repurposed
water from the utility company Clean Water Services. Further east
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a wastewater engineer - Theera Ratarasarn
merged his day job with his hobby of home beer brewing with his
creation aptly namedActivated Sludge Wheat Ale. The beer was
reviewed by professional testers and received 7 out of 10
stars!
Cheers! [Shutterstock]2. BILL GATES ENDORSES WATER MADE FROM
SEWAGEMicrosoft founder Bill Gates is on the bandwagon for clean
water. The philanthropist is singing the praises of theJanicki
Omniprocessor, a machine which burns human waste to produce water
and electricity. Gate explained in his blog posts that developing
safe, affordable ways to get rid of human waste will prevent
hundreds of thousands of sanitation-related deaths, and help more
children around the world grow up healthy and strong.3. THE TEABAG
THAT PURIFIES DIRTY WATERUsing nanotechnology, researchers from
South Africa have created atea bag filterthat fits into a water
bottle and rids water of contaminants and bacteria. One bag can be
used to filter up to 1 liter of water and is super cheap, costing
less than half a penny to produce!
New nanotechnology packaged into a simple tea bag has the
ability to purify water.[Shutterstock]4. ALGAE AS A NATURAL AND
ORGANIC WAY TO PRODUCECLEAN H20Green technology is in Mother
Natures hands as an engineering grad student and professor found
out when they grewalgae in wastewater. They were originally looking
at algaes potential for creating biofuel and happened upon this
clean water solution. Heres how it works: When placed in dirty
water, the algae removes ammonia, phosphate and nitrate,
significantly reducing the pathogen load. Afterwards a centrifuge
removes the algae; and an ultraviolet radiation system rids any
leftover pathogens. All that remains for clean, potable water is to
adjust the pH level. The green tech is already being commissioned
by nonprofits and organizations as a cheap and organic way to
produce clean H20.
Algae is a natural water purifier. [Shutterstock]