14 DAY TRIAL // Duke University researchers have found a new way of keeping water pipes clean and free of residues, drawing their inspiration from medicine designed to prevent the formation of clots in the human circulatory system. Basically, they advocate the use of microscopic carbon particles, known as buckyballs, to prevent dirt or other types of matter from adhering to the inner surface of the pipes in the first place. This could endure an even and constant flow, without any losses being recorded.
The system will, perhaps, have the best applications in water-treatment plants, where various types of membranes are used to filter the water. These environments offer bacteria and other microorganisms the perfect place to gather and grow, and the researchers behind the new initiative believe that these would be the perfect spots to start using the technology from.
“Just as plaque can build up inside arteries and reduce the flow of blood, bacteria and other microorganisms can over time attach and accumulate on water treatment membranes and along water pipes,” DU environmental and civil engineering department post -doctoral fellow So-Ryong Chae explains. He is also the author of a study detailing the new technique, published in the March 5th issue of the Journal of Membrane Sciences.
“As the bacteria build up on these surfaces, they attract other organic matter, creating a biofilm that slowly builds up over time. The results of our experiments in the laboratory indicate that buckyballs may be able to prevent this clogging, known as biofouling. The only other options to address biofouling are digging up the pipes and replacing the membranes, which can be expensive and inconvenient,” he adds.
“Biofouling is viewed as one of the biggest costs associated with membrane-based water treatment systems. These membranes have very small pores, so they can get stopped up quickly. If we could increase the time between membrane replacements by 50 percent, for example, that would be a huge cost savings,” DU Pratt School of Engineering assistant professor of civil engineering Claudia Gunsch, who is also a senior member of the team behind the new research, points out.
“We focused on a quite specific microorganism, so the next stage of our research will be to see if these nanoparticles will have the same effects on bacteria commonly found in the environment or those in mixed microbial communities. We also plan to build a small-scale version of a treatment plant in the lab to conduct these tests,” Chae concludes.