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A super-absorbent biowaste material can be used to clean water and recover pollutants for reuse
Spotted: Manufacturing, mining, energy, and construction are the top generators of industrial wastewater – water that’s contaminated with chemicals or other pollutants. Only about a third of this wastewater gets treated before being discharged, but if pollutants could be removed cost-effectively, they could be reused. This is the solution that EcoWorth Tech is working on.
The company has developed a carbon fibre aerogel (CFA) made from biowaste that can recover organic materials from liquid after it’s been heated. CFAs are super-absorbent, soaking up oil and organic materials that can then be recovered from the CFA for reuse.
EcoWorth’s CFA is made from cellulose waste, including cotton and paper materials, and is incorporated into industrial-grade cartridges to act as filters. Each filter can be reused several times and then recycled or converted into biochar for agricultural use. Many of the chemicals absorbed by the CFA can also be recovered and reused in applications like biofuels.
The Singapore-based company completed its seed funding round in 2017 and has also raised additional grant funding. EcoWorth has also received recognition at the Chengdu International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition and the ORIGIN Innovation Awards.
Other innovations aimed at cleaning water efficiently include metallic cages that can control river floods and trap waste and pellets that can absorb waste phosphates in water for reuse in fertiliser.
Written By: Lisa Magloff