From: | CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org> |
Date: | 17 Jun 2002 14:41:14 -0000 |
Reply: | cpeo-military |
Subject: | [CPEO-MEF] CPEO-MEF] Device Turns Contaminants into Harmless Byproducts |
Device Turns Contaminants into Harmless Byproducts EVANSTON, Illinois, June 14, 2002 (ENS) - A new device can render perchlorate - a thyroid damaging ingredient of rocket fuel that contaminates drinking water in some areas - harmless. A Northwestern University environmental engineer has received a U.S. patent for the treatment device, which has potential applications that extend beyond the safety of drinking water and this one pollutant. Bruce Rittmann has patented a hollow fiber membrane biofilm reactor, that, through a natural biochemical process of electron transfer, turns perchlorate into innocuous chloride. The system also works on nitrate, a contaminant from agricultural fertilizers that can cause methemoglobinemia, or blue-baby syndrome, in infants. It is expected to work on other oxidized pollutants, such as bromate, selenate, heavy metals, radionuclides, and a range of chlorinated solvents, including trichloroethylene, produced by the semiconductor industry. There is no effective clean up solution for perchlorate, which was discovered in the water supplies of many states in the late 1990s. Existing methods are also not always successful when dealing with other contaminants. This article can be viewed in its entirety at: http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2002/2002-06-14-09.asp#anchor3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
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