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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
The water coming out of your faucet is safe to drink, but that doesn't mean it's 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.
Instead 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.
"The minus approach is a groundbreaking philosophical concept in water treatment," said Yongsheng Chen, the Bonnie W. and Charles W. Moorman IV Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "Its 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."
Chen and his student Elliot Reid, the primary author, presented the minus approach in the paper, "The Minus Approach Can Redefine the Standard of Practice of Drinking Water Treatment," in the Environmental Science & Technology journal.
The minus approach physically separates emerging contaminants and disinfection byproducts from the main water treatment process using these already proven processes:
The 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.
Journal information: Environmental Science & Technology
More information: Elliot Reid et al, The Minus Approach Can Redefine the Standard of Practice of Drinking Water Treatment, Environmental Science & Technology (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c09389
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 16 2023, @01:36AM (1 child)
Slightly off topic, but it came out earlier this year that the Buffalo Water Board stopped adding fluoride (anti-tooth decay) to the city water in 2015.
Once someone read the fine print and the news broke, https://buffalonews.com/buffalo-has-stopped-adding-fluoride-to-water-system-for-the-last-7-years/article_b729ffeb-b46e-55b5-aaed-c98f6691d0bc.html [buffalonews.com] there was quite a hue and cry, and some lawsuits as well. Kids with unexpected cavities, etc.
fyi, We're not in the city, the county water system here seems to be (somewhat) better managed. And it's new enough that there aren't any lead pipes.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Reziac on Saturday September 16 2023, @02:13AM
Yeah, my old dentist told me he could always tell at a glance if kids lived in his town, or in the next burg over. One fluoridated city water, the other did not.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.