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19
2017
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01
Nanoballs can help wastewater undergo deep detoxification
On December 7, 2012, news reported on a tiny sphere, about the size of a grain of sand. Its interior is ingeniously structured into a series of small compartments, meticulously arranged with extremely fine nanomaterials. When countless such spheres are gathered in a filtration device, toxic and harmful substances in domestic and industrial wastewater are instantly adsorbed and separated. The water purification results far exceed current national standards. 36-year-old Pan Bingcai, director of the Department of Environmental Engineering at Nanjing University, and his team have developed a world-leading environmental nanotechnology control and wastewater advanced treatment technology. He was selected as one of Jiangsu Province's Top Ten Young Scientists and Technologists this year.
December 7, 2012, news reported that a tiny sphere, about the size of a grain of sand, is internally divided into a series of small compartments by an intricate framework structure. These compartments are meticulously arranged with extremely fine nanomaterials. When countless such spheres are gathered in a filtration device, the toxic and harmful substances in domestic water and industrial wastewater are instantly adsorbed and separated. The water purification results can far exceed current national standards. 36-year-old Pan Bingcai, director of the Department of Environmental Engineering at Nanjing University, and his team have developed environmentally friendly nano-control and advanced wastewater treatment technology that is globally leading. He was selected as one of Jiangsu Province's Top Ten Young Scientists and Technologists this year.
In the 1990s, when Professor Pan had just graduated from undergraduate studies, he often dealt with industrial wastewater with pungent odors. "At that time, the pursuit of industrial environmental protection was merely to meet emission standards," said Professor Pan. However, colorless water may still be toxic. Therefore, advanced wastewater treatment is now more important. For example, in the past, the national standard for the amount of chromium, a heavy metal, in industrial wastewater required only 0.5 units for discharge; now, it must be reduced to 0.05 units. This means that wastewater must undergo further detoxification.
Further detoxification is not easy. "For example, heavy metals, nitrogen, and phosphorus in wastewater, as well as arsenic and fluoride in domestic water, have potential toxicity, but because the content is relatively low, traditional filtration and decomposition materials are almost ineffective." In 2005, Professor Pan began to turn his attention to the latest nanomaterials. Professor Pan showed some brown small spherical particles to the reporter. What is so special about these seemingly unremarkable small particles? Professor Pan explained that if countless of these special small spheres are placed in the filter tube of the water treatment equipment, a special filtration layer is formed. This filtration layer is different from common filtration layers; the water flows quickly through it without clogging, and the toxic and harmful heavy metals and chemicals in the water are instantly captured and separated by the nanomaterials inside the spheres. Professor Pan said that different spheres with different functions can be used to treat different wastewater. The filtered water quality can reach or far exceed current national environmental protection standards. Furthermore, the used spheres can be removed, processed, and the heavy metals or chemicals inside can be collected. For example, the trace amounts of copper filtered from countless tons of wastewater can eventually be separated and concentrated into a small copper block from the spheres. The processed spheres can be reused. "It's like squeezing the water out of a sponge, and it can be reused."
The research and development of these nanospheres are constantly being improved and upgraded. This technology was almost simultaneously researched with the United States, and now it has obtained 11 Chinese national patents and 7 international patents, leading the world. Since 2008, Professor Pan's team has been able to mass-produce these spheres and use them for advanced water treatment, not only for industrial wastewater but also for domestic water. A few years ago, at the invitation of the government of a certain place in Shanxi, Pan Bingcai and his colleagues used nanospheres to filter arsenic from the local groundwater. He recalled that the arsenic content in the local groundwater was 400 micrograms/liter, while the national standard for domestic water is less than 10 micrograms/liter, exceeding the standard by 40 times. Many residents suffered from arsenic poisoning symptoms such as skin ulcers on their hands and feet. The local area had tried many environmental protection materials to remove arsenic, but only these nanospheres truly worked, allowing residents to use clean and safe water.
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