Important Innovations

New Global Technology Innovation Simple, Inexpensive Tech from Purdue University This is new innovation that is noteworthy.  Purdue University scientists have developed a simple and inexpensive method to remove oil from water.  Why does that matter?  The potential of this new technology is to cut pollution and health risks globally. Source: Purdue University System  Produced Water The process was developed for "produced water" from oil refining.  2.5 billion gallons of produced water are generated daily by oil refineries.  According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the produced water has been an intractable contamination problem and hazard.  Purdue researchers say they have developed a purification system that is a breakthrough. Solar Power+Charcoal+Foam & Goes Full Circle The Purdue process relies on solar-powered charcoal foam.  The charcoal is heated up by solar energy to absorb petroleum.  The scientists have demonstrated that their process f

LifeStraw - Personal Water Filter Technology Source:  LifeStraw Don't Drink the Water Dirty water kills millions of people every year.  2.1 billion people globally don't have safe water to drink.  In fact, more people die from contaminated water than from anything else, including war and violence.  A Danish entrepreneur has developed a high tech straw that makes dirty water clean and drinkable. Innovative Technology The straw kills millions of microbes as the water passes through it.  It works like a normal drinking straw.  But it traps contaminants in a number of long, hollow fibers inside the plastic tube.  The company says it traps 99.9% of parasites and 99.9999% of bacteria, including those that cause cholera and typhoid fever. 3rd World Use This technology is of particular importance to developing countries where clean, drinkable water is a scarce commodity.  By 2025, half of the world's population will live in regions where the demand for safe water exc