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17 June 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Supplied
Food parcels
Annelize Visagie (Food Environment Office, with the black mask), Belinda Janeke (Career Services) and Angelo Mockie (Art, Culture and Dialogue Office) from the Division Student Affairs (DSA) busy preparing food parcels in the storeroom at the Thakaneng Bridge
Between 40 and 50 students from the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein receive daily food parcels during the lockdown, thanks to the cooperation between the Food Environment Office at the UFS, Tiger Brands, and the Total Garage in Brandwag.

Annelize Visagie from the Division of Student Affairs (DSA), who is heading the Food Environment Office at the UFS, says just before the national lockdown started in March, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tiger Brands to sponsor 500 food parcels to students who do not have bursaries. This is part of the UFS strategic goal of improving student success and wellbeing. UFS staff is working hard to implement initiatives and obtain sponsorships – such as this one with Tiger Brands – as well as food donations to ensure that students do not go hungry.

“Then the lockdown happened. However, the project continued, with Tiger Brands still sponsoring food parcels. Students email me and I respond to those emails. We are also looking at including students from the South Campus in the project.”

“I deliver the food parcels to the Total Garage across from the campus, where students collect it. We give between 40 and 50 parcels every day and have helped 650 students thus far. These parcels cost Tiger Brands R80 000 a month. We also provide students with vegetables from vegetable tunnels on campus,” says Visagie.

Visagie says the cooperation between the outside companies, the UFS, and even staff and students who volunteer, is heart-warming to see especially during this time of crisis. So is the gratitude from the students. They are also in discussions with the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers to provide 200 food parcels to needy students from next month.

“We have a supply chain going on in the storeroom at the Thakaneng Bridge. It is great to see how staff members and students jumped in to help us pack the parcels. We have permits and more students want to help, but they can’t get onto campus at this time. We would not be able to do this without the help of Tiger Brands and the Total Garage.”  

The DSA Food Environment Office is also collaborating with senior management on the UFS Qwaqwa and South campuses to distribute food parcels on these two campuses.

News Archive

UFS venture cleans up acid mine drainage
2015-07-06

The system that puts oxygen back into the water.

Photo: Supplied

South Africa is one of the most important mining countries in the world, beginning in the 1870s. Although the mining industry has been responsible for significant development and employment, it pollutes the environment and waters sources. Through the joint effort of a well-known mining company, the University of the Free State, and the Technology Innovation Agency (UFS/TIA) SAENSE Group, a new treatment for Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) has been developed.

The system treats the major contaminants found in acid mining wastewater effectively.  
 
The UFS remediation systems use a reservoir tank into which the AMD is pumped. The water then flows passively (without using energy) to the Barium Carbonate Dispersed Alkaline Substrate (BDAS) system. The metals and anions in the AMD react chemically with the barium carbonate and precipitate (form solids). The solids stay in the tank while the clean water is released.

The efficacy and applicability of the research was demonstrated on site in Belfast, Mpumalanga where the team constructed a pilot plant in July 2014. This patented technology has treated 1 814 400 litres of Acid Mine Drainage to date with an outflow water quality that satisfies the South African National Standards (SANS) 241:2006 & 2011 regulations for drinking water.   

Rohan Posthumus from the (UFS/TIA) SAENSE Group said: “At this stage, we do not recommend that the water should be used as drinking water, but certainly it can lower water usage in mines while finding application in dust suppression of washing processes. The team would like to complete a full characterisation of the final released water. There are currently no toxic by-products formed, and even very basic filtration can make the outflow drinking water.”

Prof Esta van Heerden’s research group from the Department of Microbial, Biochemical, and Food Biotechnology has been working on AMD research for some time, but the development of the BDAS system was started in 2013 by post-doctoral student, Dr Julio Castillo, and his junior researcher, Rohan Posthumus.

The data from the BDAS system have led to two publications in peer-reviewed journals as well as a registered patent.

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