Seminar Abstract

DATE:  Friday, February 22, 2019
TIME:  2:30 pm (refreshments at 2:15 pm)
PLACE: ENR building, room 223
       14 College Farm Road, New Brunswick, NJ

Yang Deng
Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State University


Innovative Water Treatment Solutions to Urban Water Challenges


Water is an essential feature for modern cities. In an urban setting, water is constantly renewed in a local-scale urban water cycle, different from the hydrological cycle on a global scale, which is heavily impacted by human intervention. A healthy urban water cycle is vital to pursue sustainability in urbanized areas where 54% of the world's population lives. However, different challenges associated with the quantity and quality of water are severely threatening urban water sustainability. Development of innovative water treatment technologies are a strategically sound approach to addressing these issues.

Dr. Deng's research interests focus on innovative water treatment solutions to urban water challenges. This presentation will aim to introduce two research threads that he has nurtured, both centered on urban water, over the past years. The first theme is to develop innovative treatment technologies and designs for enhancing municipal water supply. The novel methods can be applied for alleviation of traditional and emerging contaminants during drinking water treatment and wastewater reuse. Examples include the revolutionization of water treatment and reuse with ferrate (VI) (an environmentally friendly and multi-function treatment agent) and cost/energy-efficient removal of per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) using a new adsorption – on-site regeneration approach. In the second thread, water industry wastes, including water treatment residuals from water treatment facilities and sewage sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants, are reused for closing an urban water cycle through treatment and reuse of polluted urban stormwater. The new perspective on urban water management will concurrently address two issues, i.e. urban stormwater pollution and waste disposal, in an urban water cycle.