Fats, oils, and grease often get a bad rap. But what if they could be used to help create renewable energy to power wastewater treatment plants, resulting in cleaner water for everyone?
Tyler Radniecki, associate professor of environmental engineering at Oregon State University, is partnering with local water utilities and municipalities on strategies for using FOG — fat, oil, and grease — to produce cheap, renewable energy from wastewater treatment.
Using advanced strains of microorganisms, Lewis Semprini and Mohammad Azizian develop systems capable of cleaning contaminated ground water.
Antibiotic resistance poses a growing threat to human health around the world, as drugs that were once humanity’s frontline defense against common infections are proving useless against virulent new strains of superbugs.
We humans manage to foul up our planet’s vital water supply in countless ways. Although we have found some reliable strategies to clean up the abundant mess, a few among us are determined to find better answers to a serious and growing problem. Tyler Radniecki, an assistant professor of environmental engineering, is one of those individuals. He’s spent his entire career cleaning up dirty water.
“The overall quality of water in our country is deteriorating,” Radniecki said. “Is it in crisis mode? I don’t know, but it’s getting worse, and we need practical, affordable solutions.”
Lewis Semprini is working to build strong, healthy communities that thrive on toxic waste.
The communities in this case are made up of a special type of anaerobic bacteria that “breathe” chlorinated organic solvents, similar to the way humans breathe oxygen. Semprini, a distinguished professor of environmental engineering at Oregon State, has spent the past 30 years working on bioremediation strategies using these and other types of microorganisms to help clean up contaminated groundwater.
