Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | FEBRUARY 2016 | 23 In the know Algae is more effective at treating wastewater than many of the processes employed in municipal facilities today, researchers at Drexel University in Philadelphia have claimed. Engineers at the university have designed a bioreactor system in which algae is a functional ingredient, and say that it has proved able to remove several chemicals from wastewater at once. This contrasts with the approach taken at conventional wastewater treatment works where wastewater is put through a gauntlet of separate processes that physically RESEARCH ROUND UP US researchers use algae in new wastewater reactor and chemically strain out hazardous or damaging elements. Christopher Sales, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering and a member of the research team at the AJ Drexel Institute for Energy and the Environment, says that wastewater treatment has much to learn from algae and its symbiotic relationship with the bacteria which remove excess nitrogen from water. He said: "One of the most time-consuming and expensive components to wastewater treatment today is ridding water of nutrients such as nitrogen and RISING UP Chris Loughlin, chief executive at South West Water (SWW), has taken on the newly created role of group chief executive of parent company Pennon Group. The move follows a four-month review of the corporate structure of the group led by chairman John Parker. SWW's Chief Operating Officer Stephen Bird will now lead the water company as managing director. Environment Agency (EA) chairman Philip Dilley has stepped down from his post in the fallout from the severe flooding that affected much of the country. Current deputy chairman Emma Howard Boyd has taken over as acting chair. Severn Trent has appointed Gill Barr as the new independent chair of its Customer Challenge Group, known as the Severn Trent Water Forum. She succeeds the current chair, Bernard Crump, and her appointment will run until March 2020. Peter Reynolds, Managing Director of Grundfos Pumps, has taken over as the new President of the British Pump Manufacturers Association (BPMA). The role was passed on at the recent BPMA Annual General Meeting, where Andy Ratcliffe, Managing Director of KSB Pumps, completed his two-year tenure. Keyline has strengthened its Utilities Division by bringing in three new business development managers. Dean Wheatley will cover the north, Haydn Probert the central region and Ed Pemberton will cover the south. phosphorus, which o†en make their way into water from our household toilets and sinks. It's an essential step because the release of excess nitrogen species into a water supply can lead to accelerated growth of cyanobacteria and algae — and create a massive algal bloom like the one in Lake Erie last summer which caused the contamination of the entire water supply of Toledo, Ohio." Sales and a colleague from the University of Pennsylvania have previously developed a high density bioreactor that can cultivate a dense mixture of microorganisms that remove oxygen organic carbon compounds from wastewater. Sales and his lab at Drexel have now added algae to this design, to improve the reactor's nitrogen-removal capabilities and allow for the recovery of potentially valuable algal biomass. The bioreactor works by continuously cycling water into an algae and bacteria- laden environment, removing nitrogen by storing it in algae that can be easily separated from water in their new reactor. Sales indicates that it can remove up to 80% of nitrogen from a waste stream. ● 26 Events: Utility Week Live preview ● 30 Innovation Zone: Resmix Vital ● 33 Getting to Grips: Surge control ● 36 Technically Speaking Acidic wastewater 25 Feb WWT Water Northern Ireland conference, Belfast. 29 Feb WEX Global conference, Lisbon, Portugal. 17 Mar WWT Smart Water Networks Confer- ence, Birmingham. 17 May Utility Week Live, Birmingham.. COmING UP The Future Water Association (FWA) has announced a formal partnership with the Sheffield Water Centre at the University of Sheffield, to help foster innovation and collaboration between researchers and the supply chain. The two organisations share a clear goal of futureproofing the sector with innovative thinking and practical solutions and creating a formal partnership is the logical way forward, according to the announcement. The FWA said that Sheffield's highly collaborative and innovative approach to meeting the challenges faced by the water sector over the coming years made them an obvious partner for the association, which is dedicated to promoting innovation within the supply chain. As part of this collaboration, the 120+ member companies of the Future Water Association will have the opportunity to participate in 'Thought Leadership Clubs'. Launched in March 2015, these are multi-disciplinary consortia working with innovators from a variety of industries and perspectives to find novel solutions for water challenges. This partnership will allow members to work closely with researchers and take advantage of the R&D facilities in Sheffield, which are set to be expanded. Future Water Association in University of Sheffield deal

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