Posted on 01/14/2025 9:37:10 AM PST by Jonty30
Adopting a method from the medical field, this technique can separate substances with minimal dilution. Researchers at Rice University, in partnership with Guangdong University of Technology, have developed a groundbreaking method for treating high-salinity organic wastewater—waste streams that contain both high salt and organic content—by adapting dialysis technology commonly used in medicine.
In medical dialysis, a machine called a dialyzer filters waste and excess fluids from the blood of patients with kidney failure. Blood is drawn from the body, purified in the dialyzer, and then returned through a separate needle or tube.
In their study published in Nature Water, the research team demonstrated that a similar process can effectively separate salts from organic compounds in wastewater with minimal dilution. This approach overcomes major limitations of traditional treatment methods and offers significant benefits, including reduced environmental impact, lower operational costs, and the potential to recover valuable resources across various industries.
“Basically, it’s the same medical dialysis methods used with kidneys. Assuming it can be scaled up,...”
Sorry but you can get just about anything to work at lab scale under controlled conditions. Much much more difficult to transition technology to work in the real world. Seen it many times.
CAN THEY REMOVE DRUG RESIDUE???
About 50% of drugs injested pass thru the human body——
INTO the ‘waste water’
There is really nothing new about this technology. My first job as a chemist almost fifty years ago was at Monsanto as a contract lab technician testing the performance of gas separation membranes.
The big problem with it then was the membranes get contaminated and the flow through them deteriorates pretty quickly.
My suspicion is the dialysis membranes are used one time for a single patient, then discarded for a new one for the next patient.
I don’t think these will last very long filtering sewage.
I understand. That’s why I gave the qualifier about having to scale it up to get the benefits. I am aware that what works in a test tube may not work in mile long vats.
“That’s why I gave the qualifier about having to scale it up to get the benefits. I am aware that what works in a test tube may not work in mile long vats.”
Just supporting your comment. Most people don’t have real world experience with product development.
Thank you.
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