Mapping chemical footprints in European streams

Analysis shows a mix of chemicals that endanger invertebrate organisms in particular

11-Mar-2024 - It is well known that if chemicals from domestic sources enter water bodies via sewage treatment plants, agriculture, and industry, this can endanger freshwater ecosystems. In order to find out more about the pollution of European rivers, a research team from the Helmholtz Centre for ...

Ready, set, here are the Changemakers!

The ISC3 has selected it's finalists for the Innovation Challenge in Sustainable Chemistry and Agriculture

27-Jul-2023 - The fourth ISC3 Innovation Challenge that called for innovations in the field of Sustainable Chemistry and Agriculture has it's finalists! The international jury of experts chose eight finalists from a large number of top-notch applications from five continents. This year, the International ...

An illuminated water droplet creates an ‘optical atom’

The findings open up the possibility of measuring chemical or biological contaminants in water droplets quickly and easily

03-Feb-2023 - Shining light on a water droplet creates effects analogous to what happens in an atom. This can help us understand how atoms work, write researchers from the University of Gothenburg in a new journal article. If you whisper by the wall in the dome of St Paul's Cathedral in London, you'll discover ...

Identifying toxic materials in water with machine learning

New research can quickly identify toxins from oil sands and tailing ponds

23-Mar-2022 - Waste materials from oil sands extraction, stored in tailings ponds, can pose a risk to the natural habitat and neighbouring communities when they leach into groundwater and surface ecosystems. Until now, the challenge for the oil sands industry is that the proper analysis of toxic waste ...

Keep safe and cool in the pool

Novel chip sensor quickly and continuously does all the work of a chemistry laboratory

03-Aug-2020 - A new microchip that enables continuous monitoring of pH and chlorine levels in swimming pools will vastly improve water safety and hygiene for more than 2.7 million Australians as new research shows it can deliver consistent and accurate pool chemistry for reliable pool management. Developed by ...

Widespread uranium contamination found in India's groundwater

11-Jun-2018 - A new Duke University-led study has found widespread uranium contamination in groundwater from aquifers in 16 Indian states. The main source of the uranium contamination is natural, but human factors such as groundwater-table decline and nitrate pollution may be exacerbating the problem. Several ...

Heavy-petroleum fuels raising vanadium emissions

19-Dec-2017 - Human emissions of the potentially harmful trace metal vanadium into Earth's atmosphere have spiked sharply since the start of the 21st century due in large part to industry's growing use of heavy oils, tar sands, bitumen and petroleum coke for energy, a new Duke University study finds. "Human ...

Heavy metals in water meet their match

28-Jul-2017 - Carbon nanotubes immobilized in a tuft of quartz fiber have the power to remove toxic heavy metals from water, according to researchers at Rice University. Prize-winning filters produced in the lab of Rice chemist Andrew Barron by then-high school student and lead author Perry Alagappan absorb ...

Clean water that's 'just right' with Sandia sensor solution

13-Jul-2017 - Water utilities have a Goldilocks problem: If they don't add enough chlorine, nasty bacteria that cause typhoid and cholera survive the purification process. Too much chlorine produces disinfection byproducts such as chloroform, which increase cancer risks. The amount of chlorine needs to be ...

Preventing lead spread

20-Mar-2017 - While lead pipes were banned decades ago, they still supply millions of American households daily with drinking water amid risks of corrosion and leaching that can cause developmental and neurological effects in young children. One common abatement: Dig up old lead lines and replace a portion of ...