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31 December 2019
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Story Dr Cindé Greyling
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Photo Anja Aucamp
Dr Mariana Erasmus, SAENSE Platform Manager, says water remediation is vital for both the ecosystem and industries.
KovsieInnovation at the UFS supports innovative research outputs in various ways – one of which is to protect the intellectual property and to register patents where viable. This is in line with KovsieInnovation’s broader aim to create third-stream income for the university. Patent registration is a complex process and the UFS is proud to have the needed expertise to properly facilitate such an endeavour.
The SAENSE Platform
South Africa is a water-scarce country, with many water hungry industries (such as agriculture and mining). “Industrial processes often contaminate water with heavy metals, harmful chemicals, radioactive waste, and even organic sludge,” Dr Mariana Erasmus, SAENSE Platform Manager, explains.
Hence, water remediation is vital for both the ecosystem and industries. One of the key functions of the SAENSE Platform is to offer water-remedial solutions for the (bio)remediation of nitrates, heavy metals, and salts, among others. The platform’s activities and services are supported by undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers, using Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) funding. TIA is a national public entity that serves as key institutional intervention to bridge the innovation chasm between research and development.
From waste to water
Through the joint effort of two mining companies and the UFS/TIA SAENSE Research Platform, a new treatment for mine drainage (MD) has been developed. This patented B-DAS (Barium – Dispersed Alkaline Substrate) technology effectively treats the major contaminants found in acid, alkaline, or neutral mining wastewater. The aim of the B-DAS system is to provide a passive water-treatment solution with minimum waste production; it can also be a potential pre-treatment for reverse osmosis (RO) to lower the requirements of the membranes and therefore potentially reduce the RO cost.
The success of the patent is that it turns unusable water into water that is fit for agricultural purposes at a reduced cost and increased efficiency.
Student from the Netherlands conducts research on blue tick resistance
2008-10-31
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Dr Rogier Junte, a final-year veterinary student at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, was for the past three months involved in a research project with the research team of the Pesticides Resistance Testing Facility at the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of the Free State (UFS). The project was co-ordinated by Ms Ellie van Dalen from the test facility (she is also a lecturer at the Department of Zoology and Entomology) and Prof. Frans Jongejan from the University of Utrecht. Dr Junte presented a seminar on the research conducted: “Acaricide resistance in the blue cattle tick and the use of the Scorpion dip applicator". In this summary of the collaborative research Dr Junte emphasised the ever growing problem of blue tick resistance against chemical control. At the seminar were, from the left, front: Dr Junte, Ms van Dalen; back: Prof. Neil Heideman, Vice-Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, and Prof. Jo van As, Head of the Department of Zoology and Entomology.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs |