Wow! This past year seemed to pass very quickly here. As hard as it may be to believe, it is already time to once again gaze into our crystal ball and cogitate on which types of technology is being developed that will make our little corner of the universe a better place to inhabit. As we peek into the future, please keep some points in mind. First, even though certain Congressional members will continue to self promote and take exception to what the EPA is trying to do, it would be political suicide to try to eliminate that governmental agency. Also, new technologies will continue to be developed and adopted to solve environmental problems so that our air remains clean and our water is fresh and free of contaminants.

Consider this: politicians on both sides of the argument are currently claiming that job creation is – and will continue to be – a top priority. Also, environmental regulations have often been the driving force behind the fostering of new technologies that have driven environmental advancement. Remember, that not long ago, environmental scientists were still measuring at contaminations that were measured to the nearest one-thousandth concentration. Today, new technology allows concentrations to be determined to the nearest trillionth. That single improvement alone has led to technologies that can clean our air or water resources and lower contaminants that were heretofore unknown. Of course, somebody, somewhere has to build these new devices. Somebody has to operate the new gadgets and interpret the data. When I was in college, there were only a handful of schools that offered environmental science courses. Yet, today, a majority of the country’s colleges’ and universities’ curriculums include such courses. As a result, environmental science research continues to expand and provide additional jobs within the United States and abroad.

Although the recession recently shrunk the ranks of the environmental professional, the Bureau of Labor Statistics still claims that environmental scientist ranks will continue to grow – at least through 2018. But, which types of technological innovations and development will also help stimulate job growth, especially in 2012?

10. Safe, clean, unlimited energy
Without a doubt, the nation’s energy industry is always under attack. Consumers want more power for their flat screen TVs and other gadgets but the costs of providing that energy is rising too quickly. Environmentalists want everyone to be ultra conservationists and to survive on minimal power in order to limit the amount of energy that is consumed and thereby lower air emissions. Amara D. Angelica is a unique person whose resume is just outstanding. She has worked with really elite companies and scientists in her career.

In the 1960s, Dr. Peter Glaser proposed that a platform could be built in high Earth orbit to collect solar energy and transmit it to the planet. It would be at least seven times more efficient than ground-based installations and, best of all, there would be no impact from clouds or inclement weather. On November 14, the National Space Society announced the conclusions of its three-year, 10-nation feasibility study of this technology. The society believes that the technology capable of achieving this will be available within the next 10 to 20 years.

9. Scratch that
Researchers from Switzerland and the United States have previously teamed up to develop a special polymer-based coating that would self heal by shining light on it. This coating was developed with the automotive industry in mind. As a result, a simple scratch in a car’s paint could be repaired by shining an ultraviolet light on the impacted area. The material liquefies and then solidifies to look as good as new.

Think of how this technology could also be a boon to the environmental industry. Many tanks and piping systems are specially made for wastewater applications. A scratch in the coating can lead to system failure, resulting in leaks or spills. Maintenance generally requires special paints that are difficult to apply and are expensive. This technology has the potential to cure many headaches.

8. Mixing electricity and water
While safety professionals like to remind people that the mixture of electricity with water can be a deadly combination, such mixing within a wastewater treatment plant may be just the ticket to saving energy, as well as hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Municipal wastewater treatment facilities currently require large amounts of electricity to operate. This topic was seriously addressed at a Water Environment Federation meeting in early August 2011. While attendees discussed a variety of ways to reduce energy usage, the ideas that garnered the most interest involved the utilization of wastewater facilities to actually generate their own energy. In fact, it was suggested that these plants could even produce enough excess power that it could be sent to the grid.

Other ideas, shared by attendees, were focused on growing algae to produce biofuels, while also gathering biogas from normal wastewater operations and micro-hydropower. By combining these and other technologies, along with power conservation measures, there would be an excess amount of power available that could be returned to the grid. Aside from the benefits of lowering costs, there would also be fewer odors and fewer greenhouse gas emissions. More information is available at visit www.wef.org.

7. Seeing the light
The documentation and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions is becoming increasingly important. As a result, the Thermo Scientific IRIS Platform of laser-based analyzers has been designed to provide precise and accurate results in a single box solution. Capable of collecting real-time data in the part per billion (ppb) range, the platform utilizes difference frequency generation (DFG) to reach the Mid-IR spectral range. Recently completed studies demonstrate the analyzer’s ability to perform in various applications, such as greenhouse gas monitoring, as well as flux networks and process applications.

For more information on these studies and the IRIS platform, please visit our website, www.pollutionengineering.com, go to the white paper pages and click on the Air tab to view the full Greenhouse Gas Monitoring white paper.

6. Unsaturated vadose cleanup
Treatment methods of contamination in the vadose zone have been limited to excavation or soil vapor extraction. Unfortunately, each of these methods have had various issues, depending on the type of contamination and the type of soil in the vadose zone. EOS Remediation LLC, located in Raleigh, N.C., teamed up with the Department of Energy’s Brian D. Riha, from the Savannah River National Laboratory, headquartered in Aiken, S.C., to develop a patented process known as Vadose Organic Substrate (VOS).

VOS is a thixotropic formulation of biodegradable vegetable oil, water, nutrients and buffer that can be used in conjunction with a dechlorinating inoculum (Dehalococcoides sp.). Once placed in the soil, the materials will stay in position to treat the offensive materials. Simple technology can be applied to track the progress of the material in the soil matrix so that the client is assured of proper contact.

Field testing by Savannah demonstrated the material was safe to handle and did not require special injection equipment. The material sets up to a gel consistency after injection so that it not only resists being washed away, but also continues to promote conditions for anaerobic reduction biodegradation of many contaminants, while using a scientific combination of organic electron donors and nutrients. More information in regards to this material will be included in an upcoming edition of Pollution Engineering.

5. Mobil monitoring and control
Bobby Sheikhan, senior project manager for RAE Systems, has told Pollution Engineering that his company is releasing new families of wireless monitoring systems. The company is also focused on improving the communication capabilities of existing control systems and mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets.

Since environmental professionals are often called upon to enter suspicious areas or confined spaces, the company also provides a special harness that constantly monitors the health and conditions of individual users to ensure safety in such potentially hazardous conditions. The non-intrusive, lightweight chest worn strap incorporates an electrocardiogram, breathing rate, temperature, posture and activity sensors for real-time portable physiological monitoring to quickly access and monitor a person’s bio-readings, and back them out of a fatigue situation if their readings are high.

4. Recession creates opportunity
In recent years, the national economy’s influence on the U.S. housing market and business has been well documented. Thousands of properties currently lay abandoned and are deteriorating. Yet, this condition may also be providing opportunities to many cities.

The Georgia Institute of Technology has been working with a number of cities. In five of the major cities, the institute has identified more than 20,000 acres of land that can be recovered to the benefit of local communities. The community enrichment program is known as Red Fields to Green Fields.

While each city is unique, they all have thousands of acres that can be recovered and transformed into attractive properties. Once the economy recovers, these properties will be premium locations as they will include upscale greenscapes that will draw business or residential attention. The additional attention should result in an increased tax base. Because of the new landscapes, there would be an improved draw for customers to the new businesses.

3. CO2 in, energy out
Researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment know a lot about geothermal energy. They have also studied the concept of pumping CO2 from the surface to deep underground for permanent storage. These same researchers have recently asked themselves why they could not accomplish both tasks at the same time. This would lower greenhouse gases and provide a completely renewable source of energy.

Consequently, the institute has completed pilot studies that demonstrated the feasibility of such an undertaking. They are preparing to take the next step to form a startup around the technology to show that it can be implemented profitably on a larger scale. They hope to ultimately demonstrate that this is a viable application for many areas of the country.

2. Wasted nutrients
Every budding green thumber knows how valuable potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus are for keeping plants healthy. At one time, scientists were convinced that these three chemicals were all that plants needed in order to thrive. They reached this conclusion because these were the only compounds that were identified when performing chemical analysis. Today, thanks to improved analytical techniques, we know that trace metals are also critical to the growth of healthy, nutritious plants.

Currently, raw sources of potassium and nitrogen are plentiful throughout the world. Unfortunately, 84 percent of the known resources of phosphorous are located in a single location – Morocco. There are alternative sources of phosphorous that have been deployed for many decades though, as high concentrations are known to exist in natural waste products from animals and humans. In fact, excess phosphorous is a real headache at wastewater treatment plants. The chemical forms crystals and precipitates out on the sides of tanks and piping, forming a rock-hard material called struvite.

A Vancouver-based company, known as Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc., has developed a process that captures this material in order to provide a substance that is particularly suited for agricultural use. So far, it has been installed in wastewater treatment systems in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.

1. Superior engineering
While some activists complain about the damage caused by dams interrupting the natural flow of water, American universities are presently studying the most accomplished dam builder in the world – the beaver.

Activists and researchers agree that many rivers need to be restored. Restoration work can be very expensive though, as engineers strive to mold the landscape to provide the maximum benefit after a dam is constructed. There are many factors that need to be taken into account in the design.

“Our argument is that the restoration target for streams with forested riparian zones has got to acknowledge the diversity brought to river systems by active beaver populations,” said Melinda Daniels, an associate professor of geography at Kansas State University. Daniels collaborated with three researchers from the University of Connecticut to co-author The River Discontinuum: Applying Beaver Modifications to Baseline Conditions for Restoration of Forested Headwaters.

Beavers were nearly driven to extinction early in the 19th century due to over hunting. Their populations have since recovered. The Kansas State University and University of Connecticut researchers are closely studying the work of beavers in nature in Connecticut. They believe their work would be applicable to river systems across the county. There is definitely a lot to be learned from the beavers and, after all, who could possibly do a better job than Mother Nature herself? PE