Wastewater

Thanks to the increase of electric vehicles and other battery-using technologies, the demand for lithium is expected to skyrocket in the coming years. One odd but potent source of the metal is a Pennsylvania wastewater stream, says a new study.

In wastewater produced by the textile industry and others, dye is one of the primary pollutants. A newly developed synthetic polymer is capable of removing that dye from the water, plus it can be cleaned up and reused to treat more wastewater.

Wastewater treatment plants generally aren't known for their nice smell, and they have to be monitored in order to ensure that they're not becoming too stinky. An experimental new system uses an "e-nose" and a drone to do the job better.

Microbial fuel cells are a promising new way to generate electricity, but so far they’re plagued by inefficiency. Researchers at UCLA have now found a way to wring more energy out of them, by feeding the bacteria silver to make them more conductive.

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have produced a material they say can selectively capture specific heavy metals from wastewater, and do so with unmatched speed and precision down to the atomic level.

Technologies that extend the lifespan of perishable foods could help us avoid huge amounts of waste, and scientists in Singapore have unearthed a promising new possibility in the form of chemically treated pineapple leaves.

After wastewater such as sewage has been processed at water treatment plants, a sandy grit is typically left over. And while that grit usually ends up in landfills, it could soon instead be used in a more eco-friendly pothole repair material.

Coastal wastewater treatment plants may be a nasty but necessary way to handle the effluent from our cities, but a new study by Stanford University indicates that by mixing fresh water from the plants with seawater, they have the potential to recover 18 gigawatts of electricity worldwide.

Researchers have developed a new “mat” that can adsorb and destroy pollutants from water. It's made up of titanium dioxide nanoparticles embedded into polymer fibers, which destroys contaminants through UV light. The team says the design is faster, safer and more energy efficient than other systems.

Aqualia and SEAT are teaming up to develop a sustainable fuel from wastewater. The project, known as Life Metha-morphosis, is aimed at creating a biofuel from treated organic waste, which can then be used to power CNG cars, whose CO2 emissions would be cut by up to 80 percent.

NASA is exploring the use of a mostly non-mechanical life support system for use on spacecraft, known as Water Walls.

The Ferrator is a device that produces ferrate, a type of iron particle, to treat waste- and drinking water.