Scientists discover tiny microbes with potential to cleanse waterways
Scientists discover tiny microbes with potential to cleanse waterways
May 18, 2015 05:27 PM
A seven-year scientific study has revealed that microbial communities in urban waterways has the potential to play an important role in cleansing Singapore's waterways and also act as raw water quality indicators.
The study found that canals designed to channel rainwater host microbial communities that could remove and neutralise organic pollutants in raw water. These organic pollutants are currently at trace levels in raw water - well below the United States-Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) drinking water standards - which is removed during water treatment processes.
Researchers from the NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI) and the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have discovered that the untapped natural ability of microbial communities could be harnessed to treat raw water even before undergoing treatment.
This process is known as 'bioremediation', a treatment that uses naturally occurring organisms to break down organic pollutants.
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