Novel treatment solutions turns industrial wastewater into commodity

Abstract

Industrial water treatment Novel treatment solutions turns industrial wastewater into commodity When Ernest Shackleton and his polar exploration team were forced to abandon their ship in Antarctica in 1915, their survival hinged on two special properties of ice. Firstly, ice is unique in that it is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state, which means it floats on water – so the stranded men were able to camp on drifting ice floes for over five months. Secondly, as seawater freezes, the salt ions are rejected from the ice crystal lattice and become trapped in pockets of brine, before slowly leaching out into the seawater below under the effect of gravity. This natural tendency to reject impurities means sea ice that is several years old can be melted and used for drinking water – a key factor in keeping Shackleton’s team alive until their rescue. These special properties of ice are exploited in a new wastewater treatment technology based on research conducted at the University of Cape Town’s Department of Chemical Engineering.

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