2008 Woodie Awards
New Life to Coors' Waste
By Ricky Walker
9/17/07 - News
After being established in 2006, the Colorado School of Mines Advanced Water Technology Center, or AQWATEC, has celebrated numerous awards and high acclaim.
Now, with the opening of a brand new research center, the department can further expand CSM's water and renewable energy programs. "The AQWATEC center should promote integration of diverse research related to water across campus. It is an excellent research compliment to the new graduate program in Hydrologic science and engineering," said John McCray, a valued faculty member of the center.
The program operates out of two, on-campus locations: a water quality analysis lab and a high-bay laboratory. Also, the AQWATEC works in cooperation with Golden's Water Treatment Plant, managing a fully automated surface water pilot plant. AQWATEC sites are considered by some to be "state-of-the-art," because they utilize gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy for the analysis of pharmaceutical residues and other personal care products, as well as electrokinetic capabilities to test solid samples.
Thanks to research grants and donations from sources such as the Water Environment Research Foundation, National Science Foundation, the American Water Works Association Research Foundation and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, AQWATEC has been able to attain over 4.5 million dollars in funding.
The AQWATEC is staffed by a group of professors who specialize in water treatment, biology, hydrology and Environmental engineering. The directors of the center, Dr. Jörg E. Drewes and Dr. Tzahi Cath, are both experts in these fields and have devoted countless hours to the research of water technologies. Under the authority of the faculty researchers, a handful of about ten students conduct research with the program. In the short time since the program was established, AQWATEC students, including Katie Benko, Christiane Hoppe and Nathan Hancock, have been presented with scholarships and research awards for their accomplishments.
With the advanced technology in the hands of the students and AQWATEC faculty, the program has already begun numerous projects with the aim of improving the quality of local water. For instance, the current projects include the "…treatment and transport of pharmaceuticals during riverbank filtration… remediation of contaminated groundwater using coupled physical, chemical and biological techniques... [and] contamination transport of organic contaminants in aquifers," explained McCray.
Furthermore, the center is currently working on a project that takes the production waste from the Golden Coors factory and the New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, and transforms it into a safe, healthy, and high-protein additive for fish food. As AQWATEC faculty member Dr. John Spear said, "Fish can then be farmed with a better food source, and we have taken an existing waste stream and turned it into one of value."
Now, with the opening of a brand new research center, the department can further expand CSM's water and renewable energy programs. "The AQWATEC center should promote integration of diverse research related to water across campus. It is an excellent research compliment to the new graduate program in Hydrologic science and engineering," said John McCray, a valued faculty member of the center.
The program operates out of two, on-campus locations: a water quality analysis lab and a high-bay laboratory. Also, the AQWATEC works in cooperation with Golden's Water Treatment Plant, managing a fully automated surface water pilot plant. AQWATEC sites are considered by some to be "state-of-the-art," because they utilize gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy for the analysis of pharmaceutical residues and other personal care products, as well as electrokinetic capabilities to test solid samples.
Thanks to research grants and donations from sources such as the Water Environment Research Foundation, National Science Foundation, the American Water Works Association Research Foundation and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, AQWATEC has been able to attain over 4.5 million dollars in funding.
The AQWATEC is staffed by a group of professors who specialize in water treatment, biology, hydrology and Environmental engineering. The directors of the center, Dr. Jörg E. Drewes and Dr. Tzahi Cath, are both experts in these fields and have devoted countless hours to the research of water technologies. Under the authority of the faculty researchers, a handful of about ten students conduct research with the program. In the short time since the program was established, AQWATEC students, including Katie Benko, Christiane Hoppe and Nathan Hancock, have been presented with scholarships and research awards for their accomplishments.
With the advanced technology in the hands of the students and AQWATEC faculty, the program has already begun numerous projects with the aim of improving the quality of local water. For instance, the current projects include the "…treatment and transport of pharmaceuticals during riverbank filtration… remediation of contaminated groundwater using coupled physical, chemical and biological techniques... [and] contamination transport of organic contaminants in aquifers," explained McCray.
Furthermore, the center is currently working on a project that takes the production waste from the Golden Coors factory and the New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, and transforms it into a safe, healthy, and high-protein additive for fish food. As AQWATEC faculty member Dr. John Spear said, "Fish can then be farmed with a better food source, and we have taken an existing waste stream and turned it into one of value."
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