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23 November 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Tania Allen
Dr Jana Vermaas and Ketshepileone Matlhoko are working on research that leaves your washing clean and fresh without the use of any detergents, which is also beneficial to the environment.

Cold water or hot water? Omo or Skip? Laundry blues is a reality in most households and when you add stains to the equation, then what was supposed to be part of your weekly household routine, becomes frustrating and time consuming. 

Researchers at the University of the Free State (UFS) are conducting research that is putting a whole new environmentally friendly spin on laundry day.

Sustainability and environmental conservation

Dr Jana Vermaas, Lecturer in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development at the UFS, is passionate about textiles and sustainability – almost a decade ago, she conducted a study on the efficacy of anolyte as a disinfectant for textiles.

She describes the process: “During electrochemical activation, a dilute solution of natrium chloride/salt passes through a cylindrical electrolytic cell where the anodic and cathodic chambers are separated. Two separate streams of electrochemically activated water are produced. Anolyte as water was produced at the positive electrode and has a low pH, high oxidation-reduction potential and contains dissolved chloride, oxygen, and hydroxyl radical. It also has an antimicrobial effect.”

The benefits of this process are in line with her enthusiasm for environmental conservation. 

According to Dr Vermaas, the amount of water and chemicals used to clean textile articles is massive. “Chemicals used to disinfect, for example, hospital laundry, are hazardous. Not all laundries in the industry have a closed loop system or try to remove the chemicals before the wastewater is discarded.”

“Different amounts of detergents have various effects on our fauna and flora. Due to their low biodegradability, toxicity, and high absorbance of particles, detergents can reduce the natural water quality, cause pH changes in soil and water, lead to eutrophication (too many nutrients), reduce light transmission, and increase salinity in water sources.”

“But with the catholyte and anolyte process, water returns to its original status, which means that the water solution becomes inactive again after production where it existed in a metastable state while containing many free radicals and a variety of molecules for 48 hours. Thus, no chemicals are left in the wastewater. The water can therefore be recycled, not as potable water but, for example, to flush toilets or to water plants.

“We should do what we can to save water,” she says. 

Should you, like Dr Vermaas, also feel strongly about protecting the environment and want to obtain one of these machines that leaves your washing clean and fresh without the use of any detergents, you will be able to find such an appliance in South Arica. However, it does not come cheap. “It is a bit costly for residential use, but might be more accessible in the future,” states Dr Vermaas, who is of the opinion that it is a more sustainable option for commercial laundries.

Detergency properties and colourfastness 

Recently, more research has been conducted on this topic, but with a focus on the detergency properties of the catholyte to clean different textile fibres (natural and synthetic). Catholyte, she explains, is water produced at the negative electrode with a high pH, low oxidation-reduction potential, containing alkaline minerals. It also has surface active agents that increase the wetting properties, and it is an antioxidant. 

“A master’s student in the department, Ketshepileone Matlhoko, will be submitting her dissertation at the end of November on the possibility of using the catholyte as a scouring agent to clean raw wool,” says Dr Vermaas. 

The department is also conducting studies to investigate the influence of both catholyte and anolyte on colourfastness.

*Graphic: Production of electrolysed water (Nakae and Indaba, 2000). Diagram: Supplied



News Archive

School of Medicine – heartbeat of the UFS
2015-06-24

Photo: Charl Devenish

During the past year, the School of Medicine at the University of the Free State celebrated several successes in the field of research and cooperation agreements. These successes allow the school to continue delivering world-class teaching to some of the country’s top students.

Earlier this year, a research team from the Department of Medical Microbiology under the guidance of Prof Felicity Burt, received a grant of R500 000 to conduct research on Congo fever (CCHF). Prof Burt is an internationally-recognised expert on Congo fever. The funding that has been awarded will be used to profile immune responses against CCHF viral proteins, and investigate mechanisms and strategies to enhance these immune responses. This study may contribute to the development of a vaccine against this deadly virus.

Prof Stephen Brown from the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health’s expertise and commitment to paediatric cardiology gained him the title of Bloemfonteiner of the Year. Under the leadership of Prof Brown, the department has performed many breakthrough operations and procedures. The most recent of these, was the first hybrid procedure in the country which was performed in November 2014. The department also has an ultramodern hybrid heart catheterisation suite.
 
Prof William Rae from the Department of Medical Physics focuses on medically-applied radiation. Together with his department, they are looking at quantitative radiation dosages. The research is particularly crucial for the successful treatment of cancers. Through this research, it is possible to ensure that patients receive the appropriate radiation dosages in order to obtain the desired effect without the patient being affected negatively.

Dr Nathanial Mofolo, Head of the Department of Family Medicine in the School of Medicine, is since 2006 involved at various levels of hospital management regarding quality assurance, patient safety, clinical and infection management, as well as administration. He is currently curator of internal medical students for four of the UFS’s teaching hospitals. His department is currently focusing on the National Health Plan, HIV and tuberculosis, teaching and learning, as well as service delivery in family medicine.
 
Prof Francis Smit manages the team that, to their knowledge, decellularised the first primate heart. The method has been applied successfully on rat and pig hearts by researchers in America. Recently the team also successfully cultivated beating heart cells ? those of a rat ? in their laboratories. The research is in line with what researchers in Europe and America are working on. In the long run, the research project aims to attempt ‘building’ a heart that could be used for the purposes of organ donation.

The UFS is also home to the only metabolic research unit in the country. The unit was established to focus research on obesity, type II diabetes, metabolic bone diseases and all related diseases. This includes diseases such as diabetes, cholesterol, cancer, psoriasis, lymphoedema, fatigue, high blood pressure, gout, arthritis, fibrosis, skin disorders, PMT, migraine, insomnia, gall and kidney stones and related infections, and obstructive sleep apnea. The unit is a joint initiative between the UFS and Christo Strydom Nutrition. Mr Christo Strydom, a nutritionist and world renowned in the treatment of lymphoedema, invested R5 million in the establishment of this unit at the UFS.  Christo Strydom is also the founder and owner of Christo Strydom Nutrition.

The School of Medicine at the University of the Free State is the only unit on the continent offering in-depth modules in clinical simulation. The Clinical Simulation Unit on the Bloemfontein Campus of the UFS, headed by Dr Mathys Labuschagne, is regarded as the flagship unit of the school and boasts high-technology equipment where students can practice their clinical skills before applying those skills in the real world.
 

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