College taking water filtration to next level
Lethbridge College is investigating a new micro-nanofiltration system in aquaponics and greenhouses to create a zero-waste food production, using a lightweight, durable and readily accessible material called Biochar. Biochar is a type of charcoal created through the process of burning bamboo without the presence of oxygen. The highly porous surface both captures small particles in the water and houses beneficial microbes that help filter and clean the water.
“Zero waste agriculture is the main goal, and this would have potential to treat grey water in animal husbandry, waste management and municipal water treatment,” says Nick Savidov, senior research scientist in Lethbridge College’s Aquaculture Center of Excellence, in a news release. “It even has potential to remove pathogenic bacteria to produce potable water.”
Savidov is the lead researcher on the one-year, $50,000 applied research project that is designed to find a cost-effective, sustainable solution to a problem encountered by the project’s industry partner.
The company, 1722497 Alberta Ltd., operates a greenhouse in Aldersyde, using its own design of vertical growing towers to maximize the use of the greenhouse space in an aquaponics setting. Water containing fish provides nutrition to the plants, which cleans the water for the fish habitat, but solids in the water were clogging the roots of plants in the vertical towers.
Savidov and the ACE team designed 20 “minisystems” in a effort to solve the problem, to test the various amounts of biochar for its ability to capture micro- and nano-particles to improve the water quality for both plants and fish.
The research project is supported through a $25,000 cash contribution from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Engage grant program, which was matched by the Alberta Innovates’ Campus Alberta Small Business Engagement Program (CASBE).
“We are pleased with the success of the biochar project and in the potential impact it will have for our industry partner,” said Kenny Corscadden, Lethbridge College’s associate vice-president research, in the release.
“This is exactly the intent of NSERC Engage and Alberta Innovates CASBE funding — creating an opportunity for applied research to provide practical solutions to real-world problems that help industry become more economically viable. In this case, there is potential to take the technology further along the commercialization path and we look forward to continued collaboration.”
The research partnership will not only help 1722497 Alberta Ltd. find solutions to improve its food production operations, but will also give it verified scientific data to support the company’s efforts to produce the highest quality of natural food that is locally grown.
The bamboo biochar was chosen as the material to use because it is routinely manufactured as high-quality, horticultural grade stock for the production of activated carbon. It is highly stable and retains its shape over time in the water.
“This material has a total surface area of 250 to 300 metres square, or more than 3,000 square feet in just one gram of biochar,” says Savidov. “A gram of biochar fits easily in the palm of one hand, and provides a surface area larger than a standard doubles tennis court.”
The year-long research project began with a review of literature in August 2017 and continued with the design and construction of the mini-systems, and will continue through this summer with experiments using various amounts of biochar and flow rates. The study will conclude with the construction and testing of a pilot scale microfiltration unit.
“That’s why we need applied research,” says Savidov. “It’s a very good opportunity to help industry to grow. We have a gap between academic research and application in industry. The college is very well positioned to close this gap.”
The Lethbridge College project has potential applications for waste management, closed-loop production systems such as aquaponics, irrigation water treatment and food production.