Research Funding
WMRC supports research into waste management issues that impact the State of Illinois' environment and economy. These research projects improve our understanding of waste problems and leads to more effective technologies and policies to address these problems. The research projects focus on pollution prevention technologies, ecological risk, contaminated sediment, remediation of contaminated DNR lands, and assessing the sources and risks of persistent organic pollutants in Illinois. WMRC is committed to funding high quality scientific research that encourages efficiency and economic viability in industry and has a positive impact on the State's environmental problems.
The following research projects were completed in fiscal year 2004:
Adsorbing Contaminants from Water - James Economy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, optimized the design of specialty filters to remove trace levels of partially water-soluble organic solvents that are discharged by the organic chemical, petrochemical, and metal finishing industries. The carbon fiber assemblies were developed and tailored to absorb volatile organic contaminants, thus improving upon the current industry standard of activated carbon granules while remaining cost competitive. The research also evaluated the filter materials for their regeneration and reuse potential.
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Oil and Brine Spills to Intermittent Streams - Richard Halbrook, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, evaluated the potential damage of natural resources caused by oil and/or brine spills into intermittent streams in southern Illinois. Dr. Halbrook's research group quantified sediment toxicity for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), and chloride concentrations. The researchers concluded that there is little evidence to demonstrate that the spilled oil and/or brine resulted in increased levels of stream contamination. However, the problem could be masked by periods of rapid water movement, causing the material to be washed downstream away from the spill incident sites.
Recycling Metal-finishing Wastewaters - Munir Cheryan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, investigated the potential of ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membrane filtration to reduce water consumption in metal finishing industries by recycling electroplating waste streams. Preliminary experiments showed little benefit of ultrafiltration as a pretreatment for electroplating wastes. However, reverse osmosis can be successfully applied to the treatment of these wastes. The researchers documented a reduction of 66-75% in the volume of wastewater generated and the simultaneous production of good quality water that could be re-used in the plant. The results of this project are expected to have broad applicability to electroplating facilities in Illinois willing to use membranes for recycling process wastewaters.
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Genetically Modifying Plants to Uptake Toxic Heavy Metals - Schuyler Korban, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, developed transgenic Indian Mustard plants that show promise for phytoremediation, with an increased tolerance to and/or accumulation of heavy metals from soil. Measuring root length of 10-day old seedlings, the transgenic plants showed significantly longer roots when grown on agar supplemented with 100uM CdCl2; however, no difference of root growth was observed at higher Cd concentrations. Further development could make such plants available for use in phytoremediation schemes on metal-contaminated lands.
Antibiotics in Animal Agriculture - Gerald Sims and Richard Larson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, examined the key factors that govern the persistence and transport of antibiotics associated with animal production in the environment. Antibiotics are commonly used in livestock and animal confinement systems for prevention and treatment of disease as well as for growth promotion. The medical use of antibiotics by humans has been linked to the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. The widespread use of agricultural antibiotics has intensified concerns about the development of antibiotic resistance.
Ecotoxicology of Organic Compounds in Water - Michael Lydy, Southern Illinois University, is working to better define the narcotic effects of environmental contaminants, such as PAH compounds, on aquatic invertebrates. His research group attempted to assess the overall contribution of parent compound metabolites to toxicity and to define any additive toxicological responses. Their focus was on internal body burden of contaminant as a measurement endpoint related to toxicity. The data generated will aid in assessing the ecological risks by identifying modes of action and promoting body burden measurements, independent of contaminant bioavailability considerations. This will lead to improved risk assessment where prediction is based on internal dose. Results from this project will help close knowledge gaps in understanding relationships between environmental exposures and ecotoxicity.
These reports are currently under review or in edit and will be available from the Clearinghouse on the WMRC Web site; a bound copy of each report will be retained in the WMRC library.
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