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On a Quest for Clean Water

On a Quest for Clean Water

March 4, 2014

Desert & Water Research

JUF News — Researching clean water solutions is no new task for BGU, with water recycling technologies being used on its desert campuses. But the desert is not the only place where water research is important.

Eilon Adar

Prof. Eilon Adar, director of BGU’s Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research

In June, BGU and the University of Chicago signed a water research agreement in the presence of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Israeli President Shimon Peres. The agreement proceeded a memorandum of understanding between the two universities last March to collaborate in the field.

Prof. Eilon Adar, head of BGU’s Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, explains that this three way shidduch (agreement) between BGU, the University of Chicago (UC), and Argonne National Lab, which is run by UC for the U.S. Department of Energy, is a marriage of mutual interests that could result in breakthrough solutions to one of the world’s most pressing problems.

“Rahm Emanuel and the City of Chicago have realized that, in spite of the fact that they have plenty of water, the quality of water has been deteriorating very fast,” says Prof. Adar.

The Chicago side of the collaboration is being led by Prof. Matthew Tirrell of UC’s Institute for Molecular Engineering and a team of scientists from Argonne National Laboratory, which is being managed by UC for the U.S. Department of Energy. The Israeli team is headed by Moshe Gottlieb, BGU’s Frankel Professor of Chemical Engineering.

“Everything associated with improving water quality is a potential for the project,” says Prof. Eilon Adar. “It could target surface water, below surface water, ground water, streams, ponds, rivers, lakes.”

Prof. Adar also notes that the research collaboration will not only be dealing with natural water, but also with effluents – the waste water that is left after industrial, agricultural or other uses.

“When you treat effluents, you achieve two things,” he says. “You ease the load on the environment, and maybe you can recycle. You can reuse the water more than one time.”

The effort is all about making more quality water available on a mass scale, while developing an innovative water technology industry. The two world-class universities are looking to make fresh drinking water more plentiful and affordable by the year 2020.

Read more on the JUF News website >>