'We don't see agricultural residue as waste': U of S researchers tackling Sask.'s arsenic problem in water
A team of chemical engineering scholars at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) are tinkering with agricultural waste, to create water filters that remove harmful chemicals such as arsenic from drinking water and wastewater.
Using the synchrotron at the Canadian Light Source (CLS), along with funding from the province’s Agricultural Development Fund, engineers were able to look at agricultural waste such as wheat and canola straw on a microscopic level, to study how this residue absorbs toxins in water.
Jafar Soltan, professor of chemical and biological engineering at U of S said the research into removing harmful chemicals from water could be used at the industry level, to help mining companies clean up tailings from mine sites, but it can also be used at the municipal level, helping communities such as First Nations reserves and clean drinking water supplies.
“Our initial thought was the industry that is dealing with tailings, so we could find these filters … something you pass the water through or you put the filter in the lake and it grabs the pollutants,” Soltan said. “Now we’re looking at a wider range of applications, maybe drinking water, surface water flowing through communities and we want to treat it. We can translate this science into technology.”
Khaled Zoroufchi Benis, a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering at U of S says arsenic is a harmful carcinogen found in many sources of water in Saskatchewan, and his research focuses on ways to develop environmentally-friendly filtration systems to get the harmful toxins out.
“We know we have an arsenic problem in our water in Saskatchewan, in drinking water in some rural areas and also in northern Saskatchewan and in the mining industry,” Zoroufchi Benis said.
He added U of S is collaborating with the mining industry to see how agricultural-based residue filtration systems can help remove arsenic from uranium wastewater. But, Zoroufchi Benis is also looking at how this natural filtration system could be used to comb out pharmaceutical chemicals from water systems.
If his research is adopted by technology and used as a new form of water filtration, the country’s agricultural sector could see a big opportunity to recycle its waste into something useful.
“We don’t see agricultural residue as waste, it’s more valuable and in the future we will hear a lot about using agricultural residue not just in water treatment but other applications like energy generation,” Zoroufchi Benis said.
According to an annual report from Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency, who regularly test Saskatchewan water for chemicals including arsenic, of all the testing for arsenic resulting from regular required sampling, there were 32 instances of arsenic exceedances that occurred in samples from 15 human consumptive systems in 2020, according to its report.
Additional voluntary arsenic testing was conducted by 10 human consumptive municipal systems, resulting in 66 additional exceedances.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.