Researchers Highlight a New Technique To Control Water Pollution

(Newswire.net — October 13, 2022) Orlando, FL — Water pollution has long been considered to be a major rapidly growing environmental issue. Scientists are increasingly carrying out studies to look into the techniques potentially helpful to remedy the problem. 

Scientists from the University of New Hampshire’s Contaminated Sediments Center have started testing an innovative strategy to treat polluted sediment in coastal waterways.  

Instead of dredging up the problem or burying it under several feet of sand, the investigators created a patch, which are black geotextile mats designed to cap and stabilize pollution in place.

Over the next two years, UNH associate professor Kevin Gardner, research assistant professor Jeffrey Melton, and a team of UNH students will monitor these mats to assess the effectiveness of the new approach. 

“We need to know how these mats behave when they’re buried under mud for a few years, compared to how they performed in the lab,” says Melton. 

It is worth noting that the mats come in six feet square and one inch thick, and consist of a mixture of reactive materials placed in between two layers of geotextile fabric. This, according to experts, creates a sort of quilt that traps pollutants and at the same time allows water to flow through.

Further, the reactive “filling” of this quilt has three different substances, which bind and stabilize different pollutants.

The investigators looked into a particular substance, which is a UNH-patented technology based on a natural form of phosphorus. It is worth noting this substance treats toxic heavy metals linked with industrial pollution such as lead, copper, zinc, and cadmium.

“But you don’t just find one pollutant at a site,” says Melton. “Everything is all mixed up in the sediment.” 

The researchers in this study added organoclay and activated charcoal, which stick to and treat toxic chemicals such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and petroleum products that routinely enter waterways through stormwater runoff.

Today, scientists are increasingly carrying out studies to look into potentially helpful remedies for water filtration.

It is worth realizing that some all-natural remedies have been found to be particularly useful, and one is activated charcoal. In a number of studies, it has been shown the use of activated charcoal helped filter water.

It is important to realize that activated charcoal has long been used for such a purpose, and also for teeth whitening, food poisoning, and body detox. 

There are many consumers who take advantage of the healing goodness of this remedy today through the use of Divine Bounty Activated Charcoal (www.amazon.com/Organic-Activated-Charcoal-Capsules-Whitening/dp/B071NZ5G56).