B
barbless
Member
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2008
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I was just surfing the web tonight, and turned up some stories about some possible new products in the works to clean up different types of water pollution, including that pesky non-point source variety.
I hadn't heard about any of this stuff. Maybe some of you have:
January 1, 2006 — Storm drains fitted with a spongy material -- a synthetic polymer similar to those used in diapers -- can catch household pollutants such as paint and motor oil as they are washed off by the rain. Twenty-eight states are already using the material to stop pollutants from reaching rivers, lakes and oceans.
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Oil, grease, deadly bacteria and disease are all found in our ponds, rivers, lakes and oceans. Now, a new invention may be the first step to cleaning up our water.
From traffic to urban sprawl, environmentalist Mark Gold says it all leaves our water sources dirty and polluted. "Everything you can think of is a source, whether it's your car, your next door neighbor, yourself," says Mark Gold, an environmentalist from Heal the Bay in Santa Monica, Calif.
One solution for all this pollution is the Smart Sponge Plus. Rodolfo Manzone, a chemist at AbTech Industries in Scottsdale, Ariz., says, "It is a very simple system based on a combination of synthetic polymers."
The Smart Sponge Plus uses the same material found in diapers, roofing, car bumpers, and glue and has an anti-microbial coating that removes pollutants and destroys bacteria. The sponge is placed in existing storm drains to catch the pollutants before they end up in rivers, lakes or the ocean.
Rodolfo says, "It has the capability to absorb, retain oil, grease and nitrocarbons and to lock them in and create solid waste." The sponge can also kill E. coli bacteria. The water in our lakes or rivers may not be safe enough to drink yet, but it is clean enough to swim in. And that's a step in the right direction...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2006/0104-cleaning_up_our_water.htm
Not sure if that stuff is being used in Pa., but I can dfinitely think of some places that might benefit from it.
Also:
Nanotechnology - Cleaning Up Our Water
Chemical Engineers Call On Nanoparticles To Combat Polluted Groundwater
April 1, 2008 — Chemical engineers created nanoparticles out of gold and palladium to break down pollutants in groundwater. Adding the particles to groundwater converts dangerous contaminants like trichloroethylene into non-toxic compounds...
more at the jump:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/0404-nanotechnology__cleaning_up_our_water.htm
And:
Nanoscale Iron Could Help Cleanse The Environment; Ultrafine Particles Flow Underground And Destroy Toxic Compounds In Place
ScienceDaily (Sep. 4, 2003) — Arlington, VA – An ultrafine, "nanoscale" powder made from iron, one of the most abundant metals on Earth, is turning out to be a remarkably effective tool for cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater--a trillion-dollar problem that encompasses more than 1000 still-untreated Superfund sites in the United States, some 150,000 underground storage tank releases, and a staggering number of landfills, abandoned mines, and industrial sites...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030904074603.htm
That story is nearly 8 years old; I'd like to find some follow-up.
There's no doubt that when it comes to pollution and toxics, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But I found these stories encouraging.
I hadn't heard about any of this stuff. Maybe some of you have:
January 1, 2006 — Storm drains fitted with a spongy material -- a synthetic polymer similar to those used in diapers -- can catch household pollutants such as paint and motor oil as they are washed off by the rain. Twenty-eight states are already using the material to stop pollutants from reaching rivers, lakes and oceans.
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Oil, grease, deadly bacteria and disease are all found in our ponds, rivers, lakes and oceans. Now, a new invention may be the first step to cleaning up our water.
From traffic to urban sprawl, environmentalist Mark Gold says it all leaves our water sources dirty and polluted. "Everything you can think of is a source, whether it's your car, your next door neighbor, yourself," says Mark Gold, an environmentalist from Heal the Bay in Santa Monica, Calif.
One solution for all this pollution is the Smart Sponge Plus. Rodolfo Manzone, a chemist at AbTech Industries in Scottsdale, Ariz., says, "It is a very simple system based on a combination of synthetic polymers."
The Smart Sponge Plus uses the same material found in diapers, roofing, car bumpers, and glue and has an anti-microbial coating that removes pollutants and destroys bacteria. The sponge is placed in existing storm drains to catch the pollutants before they end up in rivers, lakes or the ocean.
Rodolfo says, "It has the capability to absorb, retain oil, grease and nitrocarbons and to lock them in and create solid waste." The sponge can also kill E. coli bacteria. The water in our lakes or rivers may not be safe enough to drink yet, but it is clean enough to swim in. And that's a step in the right direction...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2006/0104-cleaning_up_our_water.htm
Not sure if that stuff is being used in Pa., but I can dfinitely think of some places that might benefit from it.
Also:
Nanotechnology - Cleaning Up Our Water
Chemical Engineers Call On Nanoparticles To Combat Polluted Groundwater
April 1, 2008 — Chemical engineers created nanoparticles out of gold and palladium to break down pollutants in groundwater. Adding the particles to groundwater converts dangerous contaminants like trichloroethylene into non-toxic compounds...
more at the jump:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/0404-nanotechnology__cleaning_up_our_water.htm
And:
Nanoscale Iron Could Help Cleanse The Environment; Ultrafine Particles Flow Underground And Destroy Toxic Compounds In Place
ScienceDaily (Sep. 4, 2003) — Arlington, VA – An ultrafine, "nanoscale" powder made from iron, one of the most abundant metals on Earth, is turning out to be a remarkably effective tool for cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater--a trillion-dollar problem that encompasses more than 1000 still-untreated Superfund sites in the United States, some 150,000 underground storage tank releases, and a staggering number of landfills, abandoned mines, and industrial sites...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030904074603.htm
That story is nearly 8 years old; I'd like to find some follow-up.
There's no doubt that when it comes to pollution and toxics, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But I found these stories encouraging.
