A wastewater treatment technology using bacteria encapsulated in plastic lenses to remove nitrogen compounds and make safer drinking water wins the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Global Awards 2021. Australian water treatment solutions provider, Clean TeQ Water, is commended for chemical engineering excellence for their project Innovative Biological Technology for Nitrogen Removal. It wins the Biochemical Engineering Award and is runner-up in the Innovative Project category before receiving the top prize, the Outstanding Achievement in Chemical and Process Engineering Award.
Its patent pending Bionex and Bioclens technologies provide a fundamental shift in how bacteria are applied in water treatment. Together, these technologies consistently remove nitrate to very low concentrations, which both reduces the negative impact of nitrate for human health and wildlife and is a key enabler for recycled water use, according to IChemE.
Compared to conventional methods to address excess levels of nitrogen, these technologies reportedly are more effective and cost-efficient, meaning the future implications for global wastewater treatment and for the environment is significant. Following many pilot plant tests, the combined technology is now being commercialized in a plant in China.
Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia scooped up awards in both the Oil & Gas and Sustainability categories for its project Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) and CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Demonstration Project. The project reportedly is the first of its kind in the Middle East in scale and operation, and one of the largest in the world. It captures approximately 800,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, which is compressed, piped and injected into a depleted oil reservoir, stopping it from being emitted into the atmosphere.
For more information, visit: www.icheme.org/globalawards
