MANCHESTER, England - Two young research scientists are at the cutting edge of experimental technologies which could help save the planet. The work of North West-based Ian Carline and Ruyi Hu has the potential to cut thousands of tons of carbon emissions and save GBP millions.
But details of the research projects the two are involved with can be a dinner party conversation stopper….the focus of their work is the billion litres of wastewater generated by the region each year.
The two scientists are part of the Research and Development team of the region’s water and wastewater giant, United Utilities. In-depth details of Ian’s and Ruyi’s research may not be for the more squeamish, but both projects offer the possibility of major environmental benefits and could help cut water bills.
Ian is involved in a new way of eliminating harmful micro-organisms from sewage sludge, potentially reducing energy consumption over today’s methods by up to 75% and eliminating 2,000t of C02 emissions each year. Although currently only a laboratory demonstration, the Carbon Trust has been impressed enough with the possibilities of the technology to provide a grant of GBP109k to further its development.
Ruyi is working at making big reductions in the amount of chemicals used in sewage treatment. His innovative method has the additional benefit of producing methane gas which could be converted to electricity to help run United Utilities’ plants.
Each year, UU dedicates around GBP1.5m to research and development projects looking at the impacts of climate change…
“We have high hopes of each of the projects Ruyi and Ian are involved with, but although exciting progress is being made, it could be years before either of these experimental technologies could realistically be ready to be introduced into our operation,” said Chris Matthews, Head of Environment and Sustainability.
“Even so, Research and Development is taken very seriously here - it will have a crucial role to play in our bid to beat climate change.”
Ruyi, aged 24, who currently lives in Chester gained a degree in pharmaceutical engineering in his native China, then a Masters in the same subject at Loughborough University before joining United Utilities in 2007. Ian studied Environmental Chemistry at UWE prior to joining UU and has worked on several R&D projects looking at optimising wastewater treatment. . Ian has vast experience in pilot plant design, construction and operation in all areas of wastewater treatment.
Note to Editors: It’s no accident that the research work of Ruyi and Ian is focused on sewage treatment as exploiting the benefits of ‘Poo Power’ is a key facet of United Utilities bid to cut its carbon footprint. Around GBP22million is being spent on the creation of Combined Heat and Power engines that harvest the methane gas given off by sewage sludge. Not only can such plants provide the heat for treatment processes and the electricity to run the works, they do it by using up methane which is 23 times more damaging to the atmosphere than C02. Treated sewage sludge, or biosolids, are also being used as soil improvers.
You can see more details of the work of Ian and Ruyi by going to
www.unitedutilities.co.uk/wastewaterinnovations.htm and clicking on GRAVITOX and INVERTED PHASE FERMENTATION
Source: United Utilities Plc
Contact: Shaun Robinson, UU 24/7 Press Office: +44(0)1925-237088
Related Press Releases
London : 15th September 2009Academia helps British and Indian companies forge alliance to buck the credit crunch crisisSeptember 21st, 2009 CMA Education and Planet EDU signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the University of Greenwich - Centre for Indian Business aimed at fostering greater co-operation between CMA Education part of the CMA Group of Companies, an organization headquartered in London, that covers the spectrum of marketing disciplines and specialties, from public relations and consumer advertising, to mobile and search engine marketing, and Planet EDU a well known learning facilitation company based in New Delhi which creates world-class customised and cost-effective learning solutions backed by value-added services for the education sector. The MOU was signed by Mr.
Fountain Healthy Aging Inc Announces Agreement to Acquire Natural Planet USASeptember 13th, 2009 LOS ANGELES - Fountain Healthy Aging Inc. announced on September 14 2009 that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the entire issued stock of Natural Planet USA Inc, a California based developer and distributor of a range of specialist nutraceutical and cosmoceutical products both in the US and across a range of international markets.
Colonists Receive Call for Help From the New Planet CalypsoAugust 26th, 2009 GOTEBORG, Sweden -
- See the world's first MMO powered by CryENGINE(R)2
First Planet Company, developer and publisher of the largest real cash economy MMORPG, announced that the completely new Planet Calypso - The Colonist MMO has been launched today on PC's worldwide. This new release sees the complete transformation from Project Entropia as it becomes Planet Calypso with beautiful new vistas, a compelling new story and dangerous monsters all rendered in Crytek's stunning CryENGINE 2.
Invitation to the International Press Conference With Jermaine Jackson Presentation of the SAVE THE WORLD AWARDS 2009July 22nd, 2009 VIENNA, Austria -
- Andie MacDowell and Carl Lewis Will Attend
- Press Conference on July 24 at 11 p.m. at the Palais Niederosterreich in Vienna
WORLD AWARDS MEDIA, the State of Lower Austria and the SUPERFUND Investment Group invite you to the international press conference for the first SAVE THE WORLD AWARDS 2009 on July 24th at the Zwentendorf Nuclear Reactor.
Spirent Communications Redefines Test Lab Automation, Simplifies and Streamlines Testing ProcessJune 29th, 2009 SUNNYVALE, California -
- Spirent NoCode(TM) Delivers Industry's First Comprehensive Solution Set to Address the Entire Gamut of Test Automation Challenges
Spirent Communications plc (www.spirent.com/) (LSE: SPT), a leader in network, services and device testing, today announced the introduction of a broad set of tools designed to automate the testing process and save engineers and their organizations time and money. Spirent NoCode(TM) (www.spirent.com/Broadband/Lab_and_Test_Automation/ProfessionalServices_NoCode.aspx) delivers the industry's first and only complete set of integrated end-to-end automation solutions covering the entire breadth of test automation requirements through a portfolio of offerings that fit a wide variety of needs and enable users to introduce higher quality products and services more quickly and at a significantly lower cost.
UK Public More Interested in Voucher Codes Than MPs ExpensesJune 9th, 2009 LEEDS, England - According to research by Hitwise, the UKs leading online competitive intelligence service, more people searched for the term 'voucher codes' than they did 'MPs expenses' in the month of May, 2009. May saw one of the biggest Political scandals in recent history, where the Daily Telegraph reported on MPs expenses, bringing to light many abuses in the system.
Save the Titanic Foundation Navigates Art World SuccessfullyApril 5th, 2009 SANTA MONICA, California - The Save the Titanic Foundation (www.savethetitanic.org) announced the completion of the Save the Titanic Foundation's needled crafted work of art and cover of the Save the Titanic Foundation's limited edition comic book. Zeljko "Z" Srdic, of Serbia, was hand picked from thousands of artists worldwide on the commissioned piece.
Don't Get Tied Down! Save Time With the tie you Don't Need to tie: Tieiteasy!March 29th, 2009 DUSSELDORF, Germany - Cross-reference: video is available at
www.presseportal.de/link/YouTube
Why do men still take the time to tie their tie every morning?
Is it a ritual, or a habit? Busy people could save a lot of time and nerves. A company in Germany - 4U Ltd.
UK Employees Ready to Help Cut Costs Around the WorkplaceMarch 26th, 2009 LONDON - Employees Point to Reducing Energy use as an Easy win
Employees are increasingly accepting responsibility for helping save
money around the workplace according to new research released today by the
Carbon Trust, with the majority (87%) saying it's important for them to help
their employer cut costs in the current climate, and 78% willing to be more
energy efficient to save money. Almost half (46%) of UK employees say they are now more likely to try to
help their employer save money than before the credit crunch kicked in.
Uttoxeter Workers Make one More Push to Save the Fox's FactoryMarch 17th, 2009 LONDON - WHEN: 1.30pm on Friday, 20th March, 2009
WHERE: Northern Foods, 2180 Century Way, Thorpe Park, Leeds, LS15 8ZB
PICTURE: Giant postcard which says 'Don't take the biscuit, keep Fox's
Jobs at Uttoxeter'
Unite members and workers from the Fox's Uttoxeter factory will be
presenting Fox's management with a petition containing over 6000 signatures
this Friday (20th March) in a bid to save their jobs. A giant postcard for the Fox's management team will also declare that Mr
Bardon, Chief Executive, should save the site at Uttoxeter along with the 800
local jobs.
Related News
Flushing Financial shares fall after downgrade; analyst cites light reserves, apartment marketAugust 24th, 2009 Flushing Financial shares dip on analyst downgradeBOSTON — Shares of Flushing Financial Corp. fell on Monday after an analyst downgraded the thrift, saying the company maintains a light financial reserve despite its exposure to troubled loans in the metropolitan New York apartment market.
Challenging simple concepts can save planet EarthMay 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A democracy activist has said that challenging simple concepts can save planet Earth from demise. In a speech at Ottawa's Carleton University as part of the 78th Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, author and democracy activist Frances Moore Lappe called for a wholesale revamping of the way we view government, the economy and democracy.
Flushing out Taliban from Swat may not solve Pak problems : ReportMay 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan is virtually fighting for its survival in the Swat Valley, as the Army there is engaged in heavy battle against the Taliban and other extremists, but even if it succeeds in flushing out militants from the region, country's crises might not siege there. A report in the Politico said that problems facing Pakistan is deep rooted within the country, and only flushing out the militants from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) would serve no purpose.
Scientists announce discovery of lightest exoplanet found so farApril 22nd, 2009 MUNICH - Scientists have announced the discovery of the lightest exoplanet found so far, which is only about twice the mass of our Earth. The planet, "e", lies in the famous star system Gliese 581.
Extrasolar planets disappear after parent stars pluck themApril 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Billions of planets are orbiting stars outside our solar system, but many have disappeared after being plucked by the gravitational pull of their stars, according to a study. Computer models over the last year or so have only predicted that gravitational forces might pull a planet into its parent star and this is such planet destruction has already occurred, said Washington University (WU) astronomer Rory Barnes.
Astronomers find first rocky planet outside solar systemSeptember 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A group of European astronomers said Wednesday that they had found the first known rocky planet outside the solar system. The find by European Southern Observatory scientists in Garching, Germany, is an important step forward in answering the question of whether humans are alone in the universe, because it is the first of the more than 300 known exoplanets - as planets outside the solar system are known - that is not large and gaseous.
Doomed planet: Astronomers find planet so big and close to star it may be killing itselfAugust 26th, 2009 Suicidal planet seems on death spiral into starWASHINGTON — Astronomers have found what appears to be a gigantic suicidal planet. The odd, fiery planet is so close to its star and so large that it is triggering tremendous plasma tides on the star.
Green cook prepares recipe to save earthMay 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - People should drop their pre-conceived ideas about how things should work and act to save the world from ecological disaster, says author and democracy activist Frances Moore Lapp. Lapp calls for a wholesale revamping of the way we view government, the economy and democracy.
First planet that orbits "backward" around its star found by scientistsAugust 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have found the first planet that orbits "backward" around its star, an eccentricity likely caused by a collision with a larger neighbor early in its life. According to a report in National Geographic News, the planet, dubbed WASP-17b, orbits a star about a thousand light-years away.
No charges to be filed against 5 Mesa police officers after 1 flushes fetus down motel toiletJuly 16th, 2009 No charges against Mesa police in fetus flushingPHOENIX — Prosecutors in Arizona won't file charges against five Mesa police officers for their role in flushing a stillborn fetus down a toilet. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office determined a crime wasn't committed last month when an officer flushed the 4-inch fetus down a toilet in a motel room.
