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December Research News
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Research Newsletter – December 2024
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Welcome to our Final Research and Innovation Newsletter.
It’s been great working to highlight the amazing army of researchers out there looking for solutions to make our economies more circular, find creative uses for our waste, and provide a food grade product to our kitchen taps.
I’ll be retiring from WSAA and from producing this newsletter. However, as this edition reveals, there is no retiring from the astonishing amount and quality of research being undertaken.
Read on to see what they have been up to this month.
Dr Dale Watson
Editions of this newsletter from the last two years are available on this link.
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Industry Innovation and Resilience
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WSAA’s New Global Map of Purified Water Case Studies
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After two years of planning and collaboration with 140 cities across the world, the 2024 edition of the Global Case Studies Map has been launched.
This map is an important step in showcasing global support for the development of purified recycled water.
Purified recycled water is a rainfall-independent option, like desalination, and can complement traditional sources like rivers, dams, and groundwater.
Click on this link to visit the map on the Water360 website
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Check Out WSAA ‘s New Website and Online Community
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WSAA is pleased to announce the launch of our new website and online community.
If your organisation is a member of WSAA and you haven’t visited our website for awhile, then you are in for a surprise. You will have to click the ‘Sign in’ button and ‘Forgot username’, if you have an account. If you are first time user then just click ‘Create a new Account’.
Click the link below and prepare for a unique experience!
https://wsaa.asn.au/
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Energy and the Circular Economy
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Anti-Fatberg Invention Could Help Unclog City Sewers
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Researchers from RMIT University have developed a protective coating for concrete pipes that could help drastically reduce the formation of fatbergs in sewers.
The process uses a zinc-enhanced polyurethane coating that reduces the build-up of fat, oils and grease on concrete by 30% compared with uncoated concrete.
Read more at WaterOnline
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Researchers Develop Economical Way to Remove TFA from Water
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Researchers from the University of Illinois have developed an electrochemical process designed to economically remove up to 86% of ultrashort-chain PFAS trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a fluorinated gas byproduct, as well as long-chain PFAS from water intended for human consumption.
The new process uses redox-polymer electrodialysis where electrodialysis is used to transport salt ions through an ion exchange membrane; in this case an “inexpensive” cellulose-based nanofiltration membrane is used to facilitate the treatment of varied chain lengths of PFAS without membrane fouling.
Read more at naturalrefrigerants.com
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Pathogens Clinging to Microplastics Can Survive Water Treatment
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Researchers from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences have found that foodborne and opportunistic pathogens can survive wastewater treatment when they hitch a ride on microplastics in water and quickly form a supportive and protective microbial biofilm.
Read more at WaterOnline
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Previously Unknown Disinfection By-Product Identified in Tap Water
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Researchers led by the University of Arkansas have revealed a previously unknown disinfection by-product, the chloronitroamide anion.
The anion was found in 40 drinking water samples from 10 different US water systems that use chloramines for disinfection. It was not detected in ultrapure water or water treated without chlorine-based disinfectants.
While the toxicity of the chloronitroamide anion is not yet known, its widespread presence and resemblance to other toxic molecules raise significant concerns
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Removing Ammonium from Wastewater Using Microalgae and Bacteria
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Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has developed a groundbreaking method to remove ammonium from wastewater by using a combination of microalgae and bacteria.
The team claim that this approach not only offers a sustainable solution but also drastically cuts down on energy consumption compared to traditional wastewater treatment methods.
Read more at WaterOnline
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Solar-Powered Desalination System Requires No Extra Batteries
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What would this newsletter be without a solar powered water purifier? This month, researchers from MIT have built a new desalination system that runs with the rhythms of the sun.
The solar-powered system removes salt from water at a pace that closely follows changes in solar energy. As sunlight increases through the day, the system ramps up its desalting process and automatically adjusts to any sudden variation in sunlight, for example by dialing down in response to a passing cloud or revving up as the skies clear.
Read more at WaterOnline
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Crystals Harvest Water from Air Without Energy Input
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Researchers from Jilin University, NYU Abu Dhabi’s Smart Materials Lab, and the Center for Smart Engineering Materials, has developed a new crystalline material that can harvest water from fog without any energy input.
The research has led to the creation of a new water-collecting material, Janus crystals, that contain both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions on the surface level, one to capture water and one to transfer it to a receptacle for collection.
Read more at PhysOrg
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Organic Phosphate Isotopes: a New Tool to Track Environmental Pollutants
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Some really interesting research from the Unitversity of Delaware that has led to the development of a method to track environmental pollutants by tracing isotopes of organic phosphate.
The method leverages a tool called an electrospray ionization-based Orbitrap isotope ratio mass spectrometer (Orbitrap IRMS), and using this instrument researchers were able to show that the signature of organic phosphate isotopes remained unchanged in the environment
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Plastic-Eating Enzyme Identified in Wastewater Microbes
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US researchers, led by Northwestern University, have found an enzyme in sewage sludge that breaks apart polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
The team incubated a strain of Comamonas testosteroni. Although the enzyme produced some nano-sized PET particles, it also completely degraded the polymer to its monomers – compounds that C. testosteroni and other environmental microbes can use as a source of carbon to grow and develop, or even convert into other useful molecules, according to the team.
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WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY
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How Do Ordinary People ‘Sense’ Water Quality
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Some interesting research from Ateneo de Manila University and Wageningen University has concluded a study into human-water relations in communities along the Marikina River in the Phillipines.
They followed the river upstream, interviewing water drinkers, distributors, and regulators from low- and middle-income groups.
The researchers recommend that policies on water purification and distribution take into account local experiential knowledge of water quality, with the understanding that peoples’ sensory experiences are the main way they define “good” water.
This is particularly critical when tackling issues such as contamination from microplastics, which are otherwise colorless, tasteless, and odorless.
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CSIRO Calls You to Chart Your Fart!
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CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, is calling on the community to track their farts, to help researchers better understand the frequency and characteristics of one of the leading gut health symptoms experienced by Australians.
While passing wind is a normal bodily function, a 2021 CSIRO gut health study found over 60 percent of Australians reported experiencing what they identified as excessive flatulence, with up to 43 per cent reporting experiencing it most days.
People aged 14 or older are being asked to track their flatulence for at least three days in total, using the free ‘Chart Your Fart’ phone app.
Participants will track the quantity and quality of their outputs, including attributes such as stench, loudness, duration, linger and detectability.
Read more about it at the CSIRO
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Genetically Engineered Bacteria Solve Computational Problems
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Researchers from the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in India have used genetically modified bacteria to create a cell-based biocomputer with problem-solving capabilities.
The researchers created 14 engineered bacterial cells, each of which functioned as a modular and configurable system. They demonstrated that by mixing and matching appropriate modules, the resulting multicellular system could solve nine yes/no computational decision problems and one optimization problem.
Read more at PhysicsWorld
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New Technique To Measure PFAS Dark Matter
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Researchers from York University have devised a technique for measuring levels of PFAS in the atmosphere. The work increased the known levels of flourine in the atmosphere by 50 percent. Levels of fluorine are an indicator of the presence of the 4,700 or so PFAS chemicals.
Read more at WaterOnline
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Groundwater Extraction Causes Earth to Tilt 80.1 Centimetres
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Researchers from South Korea, Australia and the US argue that there has been significant groundwater depletion during the 20th century and that this has led to significant drift in the Earth’s rotational pole.
The researchers developed a model to predict changes in the drift of the rotational pole. The research revealed that the extraction of groundwater helped to explain unaccounted changes in the the drift of the pole of up to 80.1 cm.
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National Biosolids Conference 2025
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17 – 18 Mar, 2025, Hotel Grand Chancellor, Hobart
The biennial Australian & New Zealand Biosolids Partnership’s National Biosolids Conference is heading to Hobart in 2025. Held over two days, this conference will examine key developments in the industry, focusing on the role of industry, regulators, and the community as champions for sustainable biosolids management and end-use. The future of biosolids is filled with both challenges and opportunities.
Find out more and register here
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Call for Papers Now Open
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| 20-22 May 2025, Adelaide Convention Centre
The 2025 theme for Ozwter25,”Looking back, moving forward,” invites us to reflect on the past while embracing a future where water is central to sustainable growth.
The focus will be on valuing water—from sustainable resources to resilient services that nurture healthy, thriving communities.
Find out more at the AWA
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Save the date for Next Water 2025!
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21-22 October 2025, Melbourne
Water Research Australia is excited to announce that Australia’s premier scientific and technical conference on water research and innovation will return in 2025!
Join them in Melbourne in for two days of ground-breaking discussions, inspiring presentations, and networking opportunities.
Find out more here
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| Research Data Australia |
| Find, access, and re-use data from over one hundred Australian research organisations |
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Australian Government – GrantConnect
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Forecast and current Australian Government grant opportunities
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© 2024 Water Services Association Australia.
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