Worldwide, agriculture accounts for 70% of all water consumption, and with the demand for water rising, there isn’t enough water for everything. The solution to this is irrigating with brackish water. However, brackish water increases the extent of salt-stressed soils and hurts plants. Salinity stress puts the world’s food security in danger. The microbiome in the rhizosphere plays a significant role in plant health and offers potential solutions for mitigating stress and improving crop yield. Unfortunately, these solutions require carbon additives, which makes them unsustainable. Using the rhizosphere of plants native to saline environments, I found plant growth-promoting bacteria that will sustain themselves while mitigating the salinity stress and improving crop yield irrigated with brackish water.

Petrochemical wastewater is generated as a result of many processes carried out in facilities, from extraction to processing of oil. These petrochemical wastewaters, which contain many substances harmful to both human health and the environment. As a solution to this problem, we designed a plasma water treatment system that can simultaneously apply all advanced oxidation processes such as O3, H2O2 and UV, and accordingly, the Fe3O4/CuO-TiO2/rGO photocatalyst, which will contribute to the formation of free radicals by absorbing the light emitted by the plasma between 200-800 nm has been synthesized. Afterwards, we treated the petrochemical waste sludge that we received from the refinery in the hybrid AOP water treatment system we created with a plasma reactor and photocatalyst, purifying it from basic pollutants such as phenol, copper sulphate and ammonia with an efficiency of almost 100%.

Enhancing Plant Salinity Stress Tolerance Through Rhizobacteria-Mediated Salinity Mitigation allowing brackish water irrigation and saving freshwater for domestic use.

Degrading plastic releases microplastics into the environment, threatening soil and water ecosystems. Research has focused on how these contaminants impact plant growth. Pollutants also include antibiotics like SMX found in landfills and water sources. This study examines the effects of microplastics (PVC and PS) and the antibiotic SMX on plant growth, both individually and combined, using three plant species (Lepidium sativum, Sorghum saccharatum, and Sinapis alba) and the Phytotoxkit Microbiotest, which is advantageous for its speed, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness. The study measured root and shoot lengths to assess contaminant impact.
Additionally, electrospinning is highlighted as a promising technique for addressing water pollution. Electrospun membranes, with their highly porous structure, effectively filter microplastics from water. Advances in this technology have incorporated inorganic nanoparticulates into fibrous polymer matrices, enhancing their efficiency in removing contaminants from wastewater. The study underscores electrospinning’s potential as a sustainable solution for reducing plastic pollution and other environmental hazards.

FLOODWISE is an innovative automated flood management system designed to mitigate flooding and repurpose water efficiently. The system integrates a flood indicator, a biofiltration setup, and an eco roof. These components work in synergy to convert floodwater and rainwater into usable water for non-potable purposes such as washing and flushing. By combining real-time flood monitoring with sustainable water treatment and storage solutions, FLOODWISE aims to enhance urban water resilience and promote eco-friendly water usage practices.

South African based water awareness learning App, stems from their research findings that Drop Drop is the project name of a water education and awareness app. Their decision to design a made them realise the need for enhanced, innovative and interactive awareness programs that educate people to make informed choices about water use and water management that will have positive environmental and economic impacts. According to the compulsory national standards as required by the Water Services Act of 1997, one of the standards states that we require ‘’…the provision of appropriate education in respect of effective water use.’’ Considering that historically and geographically, South Africa is a water stressed country with water resources under tremendous pressure due to various factors, authorities need to emphasise regular water awareness campaigns to strengthen the need for responsible citizenry. Behavioural change is vital and seeks to develop strategic intervention to assist South Africa to promote water conservation and proper water management by implementing the principles of Agenda 21 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  The aims and objectives of this project, addresses the sub goals of SDG 4 and SDG 6.

The Drop Drop prototype will be easy accessible and affordable because it is data free to use. The free Application downloader, already available on smart phones and the ZAR 29 Mb data was used to create the Drop Drop mobile game. The coding was done using Java Script. The game, in the form of questions and quizzes with the scoreboard was created. The information was researched and collated from textbooks, articles, internet sites, journals and newspapers. The app was tested with a test sample, to determine its functionality and impact on the users. 

Clean water is of vital importance. Micropollutants such as herbicides endanger the lives of non-targeted plants, mammals, humans, and aquatic life. This research addresses the removal of in water sustaining herbicide contaminants through the use of Biological Oxygen-Dosed Activated Carbon (BODAC), using a herbicide solution to, in turn, inquire the capabilities of sustainable and eco-friendly filtering method of BODAC and find a way of water detoxication.  

Algal-bacteria symbiosis system is a promising wastewater treatment technology through the interactive supply of O₂ and CO₂ to reduce the aeration energy and CO₂ emission. However, this innovation technology is hindered by limitations in field-scale application. One problem is that the implementation of existing algal-bacteria technology in urban areas is not practical because of the vast area needed for slower algae growth. Another problem is that algae suspended in the wastewater hinder photosynthesis efficiency. To address these shortcomings, this study has developed a vertical rotating algal-bacterial biofilm device, powered by a sunlight enhancement system, for purifying municipal wastewater. It has several practical advantages, including high photosynthesis efficiency, reduced land area requirement, low energy consumption, excellent nutrient utilization and minimal CO₂ emission.

Bilge Vessel + Scupper Valve is a decentralized greywater collection, recycling system that bridges the gap between theoretical research and practical application. This system reduces the water demand, essential for sustainable development, by collecting, treating, and reusing greywater generated in a household at the source without requiring any modifications in the current home plumbing system. With this product-driven intervention, a family can save 5,000-6,000 litres of potable water/month and can reduce 50% of their water demand. This decentralised approach reduces carbon emissions by 80-85% compared to the centralised STP setups. It therefore addresses two challenges: water scarcity and operational carbon emissions linked to freshwater supply, treatment and conveyance of treated water, contributing to embodied carbon savings in plumbing infrastructure, STP construction.

The Rawtrap project was born from the need to address the important issue of water purification using waste materials from rice production. Specifically, it focuses on the use of rice husk, a waste material rich in silica. This allows us to synthesize nanoparticles called MCM-41 to create a molecular sieve capable of capturing pollutants. These nanoparticles are very chemically stable and resistant even at high temperatures. We have focused our research on the adsorption of a specific dye called Rhodamine B, primarily used in the textile industry.

This project aims to prevent further melting of Arctic ice through the creation of a bioengineered strain of glacial Cryobacterium that can uptake dissolved silicon, and biomineralize it into silica (glass), to increase the reflectivity of glaciers. This novel, environmentally-friendly solution will lead to an increase in reflectance that will alow the glaciers to recover over time and prevent devastating sea level rises that would occur due to climate change. 

Since the beginning of the Russian aggression, the issue of surface water quality in Ukraine, which is potentially used to meet the drinking, household and other needs of the population, has become of vital importance. The project purpose is to set of studies for ecological assessment of the river water by the school chemical laboratory. The relevance of the project lies in the sharing of this experience for students’ scientific research activities or for use in STEM education. The proposed set of studies is very important in the context of martial law, as it allows for operational monitoring of surface water quality.