{"669591":{"#nid":"669591","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Water Treatment Approach Helps to Avoid Harmful Chemicals","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe water coming out of your faucet is safe to drink, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s completely clean. Chlorine has long been the standard for water treatment, but it often contains trace levels of disinfection byproducts and unknown contaminants. Georgia Institute of Technology researchers developed the minus approach to handle these harmful byproducts.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EInstead of relying on traditional chemical addition (known as the plus approach), the minus approach avoids disinfectants, chemical coagulants, and advanced oxidation processes typical to water treatment processes. It uses a unique mix of filtration methods to remove byproducts and pathogens, enabling water treatment centers to use ultraviolet light and much smaller doses of chemical disinfectants to minimize future bacterial growth down the distribution system. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cThe minus approach is a groundbreaking philosophical concept in water treatment,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/yongsheng-chen\u0022\u003EYongsheng Chen\u003C\/a\u003E, the Bonnie W. and Charles W. Moorman IV Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. \u201cIts primary objective is to achieve these outcomes while minimizing the reliance on chemical treatments, which can give rise to various issues in the main water treatment stream.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EChen and his student Elliot Reid, the primary author, presented the minus approach in the paper, \u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/full\/10.1021\/acs.est.2c09389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe Minus Approach Can Redefine the Standard of Practice of Drinking Water Treatment\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E,\u201d in \u003Cem\u003EThe American Chemical Society\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe minus approach physically separates emerging contaminants and disinfection byproducts from the main water treatment process using these already proven processes: \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EBank filtration withdraws water from naturally occurring or constructed banks like rivers or lakes. As the water travels through the layers of soil and gravel, it naturally filters out impurities, suspended particles, and certain microorganisms.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EBiofiltration uses biological processes to treat water by passing it through filter beds made of sand, gravel, or activated carbon that can support the growth of beneficial microorganisms, which in turn can remove contaminants. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAdsorption occurs when an adsorbent material like activated carbon is used to trap contaminants.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EMembrane filtration uses a semi-permeable membrane to separate particles and impurities from the main treatment process.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe minus approach is intended to engage the water community in designing safer, more sustainable, and more intelligent systems. Because its technologies are already available and proven, the minus approach can be implemented immediately.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIt can also integrate with artificial intelligence (AI) to improve filtration\u2019s effectiveness. AI can aid process optimization, predictive maintenance, faulty detection and diagnosis, energy optimization, and decision-support systems. AI models have also been able to reliably predict the origin of different types of pollution in source water, and models have also successfully detected pipeline damage and microbial contamination, allowing for quick and efficient maintenance. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cThis innovative philosophy seeks to revolutionize traditional water treatment practices by providing a more sustainable and environmentally friendly solution,\u201d Chen said. \u201cBy reducing the reliance on chemical treatments, the minus approach mitigates the potential risks associated with the use of such chemicals, promoting a safer water supply for both human consumption and environmental protection.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ECITATION: \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EElliot Reid, Thomas Igou, Yangying Zhao, John Crittenden, Ching-Hua Huang, Paul Westerhoff, Bruce Rittmann, J\u00f6rg E. Drewes, and Yongsheng Chen\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EEnvironmental Science \u0026amp; Technology\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003E2023\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003E57\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;(18), 7150-7161\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EDOI: 10.1021\/acs.est.2c09389\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe water coming out of your faucet is safe to drink, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s completely clean. Chlorine has long been the standard for water treatment, but it often contains trace levels of disinfection byproducts and unknown contaminants. Georgia Institute of Technology researchers developed the minus approach to handle these harmful byproducts.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Institute of Technology researchers developed the minus approach to handle these harmful byproducts."}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2023-09-11 19:41:23","changed_gmt":"2023-09-13 01:26:27","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-09-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-09-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671674":{"id":"671674","type":"image","title":"water photo","body":null,"created":"1694462505","gmt_created":"2023-09-11 20:01:45","changed":"1694462569","gmt_changed":"2023-09-11 20:02:49","alt":"Hand holds glass over faucet","file":{"fid":"254778","name":"GettyImages-1445381865.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/09\/11\/GettyImages-1445381865.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/09\/11\/GettyImages-1445381865.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":331816,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/09\/11\/GettyImages-1445381865.jpg?itok=aE0e2AI5"}}},"media_ids":["671674"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Etess.malone@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}