Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
31 December 2019 | Story Dr Cindé Greyling | Photo Anja Aucamp
Patents
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.

News Archive

UFS establishes a medical museum
2007-07-31

 

The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) has opened a museum to conserve medical instruments that had become obsolete. The museum, situated in the François Retief Building on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein, contains equipment used by medical staff in the faculty. At the opening ceremony were, from the left: Prof. Hendrik de Klerk Grundlingh (Chairperson of the Museum Committee), Prof. Letticia Moja (Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the UFS), Prof. Philip Badenhorst (Department of Haematology and Cell Biology, who donated R1 million to the establishment of the museum) and Prof. François Retief (Head of the Medical History Club and member of the museum committee). The museum is open to the public weekdays from 09:00-16:00.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs
 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept