UWindsor researcher Bulent Mutus has designed and built a filter that can remove potentially harmful phosphates from contaminated water. Phosphates are a naturally occurring mineral, but increased levels in waterways, will substantially reduce water quality.
Phosphates are found in sewage and used in detergents and commercial fertilizers, so runoff from these practices and industries, will throw off the chemical balance of streams, rivers and the lakes. An abundance of phosphates create a nutrient rich environment that can encourage massive growth of some plants and algae.
Mutus’ research project, Large Scale Total Phosphate Filtration System, received almost $160,000 from Environment Canada, Lake Simcoe Georgian Bay Clean-Up Fund (LSGBCUF), for a two-year project to build and test a large scale version of the filtration unit at the Holland Canal in the Holland Marsh, near Barrie Ontario.
“Our filtration technology is a simple and cost effective alternative to current methods,” says Dr. Mutus, biochemistry professor. “It uses inexpensive, environmentally safe methods to remove phosphorus from point sources such as municipal and agricultural wastewater.”
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