Water Treatment

 

BIOMIMICRY WATER TREATMENT

This project is funded by the Water Research Commission and lead by Golder Associates with biomimicrySA providing the biomimicry expertise on the team. The project is based on using biomimicry-based innovation ideas to take forward in the context of the challenges and opportunities for Constructed Wetlands and rehabilitation of natural wetlands. This study will look to exploit knowledge on how nature cleans water, to better engineer constructed wetlands to meet the challenges of current and emerging pollutants and pathogens. The core project team consists of engineers and scientists with experience in various sectors. Experts will be consulted and invited to participate in workshops and seminars in order to incorporate their knowledge and deliver a novel approach to constructed wetland (CW) designs for water treatment. The project began in April 2011 and will continue for 5 years.Aims of the project include:

  1. Undertake a literature review to identify challenges and opportunities in constructed wetland applications with emphasis on the South African context and priority pollutants
  2. To review current knowledge of natural wetlands and natural water treatment processing, applying the biomimicry methodology to develop innovative concepts to design constructed wetlands and contribute to sustainable livelihoods.
  3. To engage in discussion sessions with multi-disciplinary teams in order to develop novel approaches to constructed wetland design and operations
  4. To explore the feasibility of applying key biomimicry ideas to take forward in the context of constructed wetland design and natural wetland rehabilitation, through discussion sessions and workshops
  5. To record feasible innovative research avenues identified in the scoping phase of the project and design an experimental investigation that can be taken forward to answer and test the design concepts
  6. The execution of experimental investigations at lab-scale to generate data on the design and performance of constructed wetlands.
  7. Reporting of findings from the laboratory investigations and development of conclusions leading to new solutions for enhancing constructed wetland performance.

For more information:

contact claire[a]biomimicrysa.co.za