Scientists create mind-blowing device to improve water treatment: 'We are also planning to transfer the technology to commercialize it'

Scientists at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology have developed an electrochemical technology that can treat wastewater directly onsite as opposed to sending the used water to a large-scale water treatment plant. 

This development can drastically improve decentralized wastewater systems that are common in smaller, rural areas far from large water treatment sites. 

Conventional methods of treating wastewater at large plants involve dealing with it in bulk. They employ physical, chemical, and biological processes (bacteria) to filter and digest organic compounds in the water. 

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, standard-rate digesters in large treatment plants can take upward of 60 days to operate. Even high-rate digesters take at least 10 days. 

This new technology, developed by KIST researchers — Sang Hoon Kim of the Extreme Materials Research Center, Jong Min Kim of the Materials Architecturing Research Center, and Sang Soo Han of the Computational Science Research Center — can effectively reduce the total amount of organic compounds in wastewater in a shorter amount of time. 

Their findings, published in the Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy journal, showed the effectiveness of the technology. 

According to the journal, the technology successfully removed 100% of 50 ppm of bisphenol A (or BPA, an unsafe chemical used to make plastic products including water bottles and food storage containers) from water in just four minutes. The device also reduced the total amount of organic compounds by 93% in two hours. 

The technology builds on industry electro-fenton methods, including electrode materials developed to produce hydrogen peroxide — a powerful oxidant that breaks down organic compounds in wastewater. The team combined electro-fenton methods with a flow cell technology that mass-produced hydrogen peroxide to rapidly break down TOC in wastewater.

"Our findings open up new possibilities for high-efficiency wastewater treatment in decentralized or remote areas," the team wrote in Environment and Energy. This technology can make wastewater treatment accessible and affordable for smaller cities and rural areas lacking access to adequate water treatment. 

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Curbing excessive use of water in our daily lives can help to conserve natural resources and alleviate the need for wastewater management. However, the process still requires guidelines including pollutant limits and innovative solutions such as using the sun to self-clean equipment to make more efficient use of the limited resource.

The KIST team is in the midst of patenting the device and processing method, according to Tech Xplore. "We are also planning to transfer the technology to commercialize it," they wrote.

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