A new clean and green technology has the potential to save significant sums of money in the Gulf region by cutting costs of corrosion in wastewater industry and greenhouse gas emissions, an expert has disclosed. The man who pioneered the studies and researches on the issue, Ross Chandler, told Gulf Times yesterday if effectively implemented in the region, the technology could save considerable sums of money now spent on preventing corrosion and greenhouse gas emissions. Chandler, who is the managing director of Biosol, a company in Australia’s Cheltenhem, which is involved in research and development of products for the wastewater industry, said tests based on his researches were carried out in the UAE, Qatar and Oman were “encouraging”. The official said a deadly sewage gas, which is the main cause of sewage infrastructure corrosion, had the potential to kill or seriously injure workers and public alike. The newly developed technology, he said, could significantly reduce sewer odour generation in the sewer systems of the region, notably in Doha. Terming the trials carried out in Doha as “extremely successful”, the Biosol official said the new technology developed by the firm would save enormous expenses to be incurred at later stages for cleaning the country’s sewage channels. “As of now, the sewage odour generated in sewer systems requires a lot of oxygen to convert it back to harmless products at their treatment plants. This is not only expensive but also leads to increased greenhouse emissions and global warning,” he said. The application of these products, said Chandler, is primarily for the control of sewage septicity and improvements in sewage process. He said his firm’s research had centred on a revolutionary new concept to the industry that aimed at controlling bacteria at the cellular level. “This control is achieved through the use of “cell signalling chemicals,” explained the Australian. Besides reducing costs to sewage departments, the new technology also treats the cause of the problem rather than its symptom, he said. The company’s proprietary microbial control technology uses trace levels of naturally occurring cell-signalling chemicals. “These cell signalling chemicals are used as bacterial communication signals to speed up or slow down microbial action, he said. The application of the technology, he said, also reduces cost in sewage catchments considerably by controlling odours, minimising sulphide production, lessening the impact of infrastructure corrosion and removing fat and grease deposits. “This is done by sending the bacteria in the sewage catchment pipes into a single cell state. At this stage, the bacteria are effectively in a ‘hibernation’ phase and this is represented by their reduced metabolic and reproduction rate in the sewage catchment,” Chandler said. Because of the new technical application, the microbes need to use less oxygen and hence the dissolved oxygen level in the sewage goes up, he said. The application ensures that the sewage remains fresher for longer during the transport phase. http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=267698&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

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