Industry partnership a first
Reprinted with permission from Lake Simcoe Living, Spring 2012 (p.14 - Lake Simcoe Community Forum lakesimcoeliving.com)
Innovative research at the Orillia campus of Lakehead University is aimed at reducing the amount of phosphorus that gets into lakes - including Lake Simcoe - through stormwater systems.
Think about how much runoff from rain and melting snow goes into the stormwater drains located along our streets and in parking lots, carrying with it a large number of pollutants. The chief pollutant in runoff is phosphorus, a major cause of algae blooms, fish kills and even public health hazards. In most cases, that water takes phosphorus straight into our water systems, streams, rivers and lake.
The research at Lakehead Orillia is being carried out in partnership with Monteco, a family-run, Toronto-based company involved in several clean-technology industries.
One of Monteco's companies is Imbrium Systems, which sells a stormwater filtration system that captures more than 70% of total phosphorus from stormwater runoff. The company says its stormwater filtration system is the only one that can effectively capture dissolved phosphorus before it enters bodies of water, such as a lake. The system also captures more than 80% of sediment, which carries additional pollutants.
When stormwater is channelled through Imbrium's filtration system, it passes through large mesh baskets that store a gravel-like product that the company calls SorbtiveMEDIA. Most of the phosphorus and pollution-laden sediment in the water become attached to this product; the filtered water then continues to the lake.
While other researchers at Lakehead Orillia are tracking down the sources of the phosphorus getting into Lake Simcoe (See the Winter 2010/2011 issue of Lake Simcoe Living Magazine, page 16), the research project in conjunction with Monteco is looking at how to improve the effectiveness of the product used in these filtration systems, in order to help keep phosphorus out. One of the goals of the research is to make the product even more environmentally friendly.
In 2011, Monteco provided the funding for an arts and science student to spend six months looking at ways to improve the product used by Imbrium. Kayla Snyder, from Everett, just west of Innisfil, is studying to become a high-school science teacher, and the project at Lakehead Orillia gave her a unique opportunity as an undergraduate student to work with a professor on a research project. Hands-on laboratory work should set her apart when she finishes her studies and starts looking for a job.
The professor who is working in this project, and who supervised Snyder's work, is Dr. Christopher Murray, an assistant professor in the department of interdisciplinary studies at Lakehead and a former Monteco employee.
Lakehead University student Kayla Snyder (left) and Dr. Chris Murray examine a location where stromwater flows into Lake Simcoe.
This is the first time Lakehead University Orillia has partnered with industry to conduct research. Murray says the collaboration was arranged through an Ontario Centres of Excellence program that links companies with universities.
Murray says the challenge in creating any stormwater filtration process is that it must be able to handle huge quantities of water without human intervention and without any power. The Imbrium system traps phosphorus and sediment in a storage chamber that can then be cleaned out every one or two years.
He continues to explore the next steps in the process, focusing on water quality and biodegradable materials. Another consideration is finding alternative uses for the spent nutrient-absorbing media.
Murray says Monteco has also been involved with very small-scale research projects with one of his undergraduate classes. About 20 students studied topics such as removing oil from wastewater, salt contamination of surface water and limiting greenhouse gas emissions from petrochemical plants. All the projects were short-term and there were no commercial objectives.
"It was a great experience for my students to be able to talk to people actually working on solutions to problems like these and learn more about real-life scientific issues in the community."
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