Water additive on the nose with concrete sewers
Sep 12, 2014
A team of University of Queensland researchers has found a way to save water providers hundreds of millions of dollars a year by reducing sewer corrosion.
Team leader and Deputy Director of UQ’s Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC) Professor Zhiguo Yuan said sewer systems were recognised as one of the most critical infrastructure assets for urban societies. "Maintenance costs for these concrete sewers run into the billions of dollars a year across the world," Professor Yuan said.
In a paper published in the leading international journal Science, the research team shows that a common coagulant added in the drinking water treatment, aluminium sulfate, can be a key contributor to the sulfate levels in sewage.
"This, in turn, is the primary source of hydrogen sulfide, which creates rapid concrete degradation and is the main cause of global sewer corrosion," he said. "This could be avoided by switching to sulfate-free coagulants at little or no extra cost compared with the large potential savings in sewer maintenance and corrosion costs." To watch a short explanatory video, please click here!
"To get to this point, we performed a two-year sampling campaign in South East Queensland, an extensive industry survey across Australia, a global literature review, and a comprehensive model-based scenario analysis of the various sources of sulfate."
Coagulants are added in the drinking water treatment process to remove turbidity from the water. UQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Høj said the publishing of the team’s paper in Science was recognition of the high-calibre of research that had been undertaken and underscored the importance of industry collaboration.
"Strong industry partnerships at both researcher and institution level allow us to better leverage resources and facilities and to ensure the benefits from excellent research flow to end users," Professor Høj said. What Zhiguo and his team have achieved is a perfect example of a successful industry collaboration that has added the ‘plus factor’ to excellent research and delivered an innovative, cost-effective solution to a global problem. To watch a short explanatory video, please click here!
"We call it the path from excellence to excellence-plus."
Established ten years ago, Professor Yuan said the AWMC’s sewer research team had received more than $10 million in funding from industry and research grants. "A decade ago we established the ‘Putting Science into Sewers’ research program and, since then, we have delivered more than $400 million in documented savings to the Australian water industry, with much more to come," he said.
"We are particularly pleased that we were able to simultaneously achieve both academic and industry impact in the same research program – something that we have always strived to achieve."
The paper, Reducing sewer corrosion through integrated urban water management’, is online here.
In undertaking sewer research, The University of Queensland partnered with The University of New South Wales, The University of Newcastle, The University of Sydney, Curtin University of Technology, Barwon Water Corporation, CH2MHILL, City of Gold Coast, Hunter Water Corporation, Melbourne Water Corporation, South Australian Water Corporation, South East Water Limited, Sydney Water Corporation, Veolia Water, Water Research Australia Limited, and Water Corporation of Western Australia.
More News and Articles
Apr 24, 2024
News
Sustainable drainage solutions: German Start-up transforms urban water management.
Germany boasts a well-established infrastructure for managing rainwater and wastewater, yet many developing countries lack such systems. Addressing this gap, …
Apr 22, 2024
News
HDD tooling that gets the job done
Horizontal directional drilling is a dynamic process that constantly changes and adapts to suit a range of applications across utilities and infrastructure. Operators looking to get the most from their equipment …
Apr 19, 2024
News
WATCH: Overnight with SAERTEX-LINER H20 in São Paulo
Available through Pipe Core, high-quality liner SAERTEX-LINER H20 performed under pressure in São Paulo, Brazil.
Maintaining aging potable water pipe infrastructure is a constant challenge …
Apr 17, 2024
News
Immersive media provides wastewater experience in Denmark
An immersive media experience (IMX) may not be what most people want when they think about industrial wastewater, but that is exactly what visitors can expect when they visit a new installation …
Apr 15, 2024
News
Spotlight on gender diversity at Pipe Core
Since founding in 2008, Pipe Core’s team has grown across all areas of the business and is now in a position where there are more females than males across the organisation. Research published in Harvard …
Apr 12, 2024
News
New Wave of Startups Scale Innovation to Solve Global Water Challenges
Innovators from Around the World Join Xylem’s 2024 Accelerator Program to Deploy Breakthrough Innovations for Utilities and Industrial Users of Water
A new group of startups …
Apr 08, 2024
News
Integrated sustainable electricity and clean drinking water systems
Altitude Water and New Use Energy Solutions have partnered to create integrated, mobile solar-plus-water generation systems that produce sustainable electricity and clean drinking …
Apr 05, 2024
News
How to Evaluate Hydraulic Fracture Risk in HDD Design
The design of horizontal directional drill (HDD) installations often requires an evaluation of the potential for hydraulic fracture of the soil layers through which an HDD passes. Evaluating …
Apr 02, 2024
News
Historic Project Linking Rome and Vatican City Uses Advanced Technology and Local Knowledge to Keep Water Flowing
Relocation of Major Sewer Infrastructure Enables Construction of Pedestrian Link for 35 Million Visitors to the 2025 Jubilee
Water …
Mar 27, 2024
News
USU Study Looks at Water Main Break Rates in the U.S. and Canada
Report Highlights Correlation Between Material and Diameter
Utah State University (USU) has published new research on water main breaks in the United States and Canada, examining …
Mar 26, 2024
News
Update BE-21: New Material in Course and Modules on Trenchless Pipe Installation
Online training on the topic of pipeline installation in civil engineering: Trenchless technology for underground drainage construction can be a resource-efficient, …
Mar 25, 2024
Article
Bacteria as a new weapon in wastewater treatment
In early November, San Diego based startup Aquacycl officially opened its first European office and test center at the Water Campus in Leeuwarden. The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) …
Contact
The University of Queensland / Advanced Water Management Centre
Professor Zhiguo Yuan
QLD 4072 Brisbane
Australia
Phone:
+61 7 3365 4374
Fax:
+61 402 385 909