Researcher finds way to eliminate phenols

NAVARRA, Spain, Nov 4, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A researcher at the University of Navarra in Spain says he found a novel procedure for eliminating organic waste from water.

Xabier Sevillano recently defended his Ph.D. thesis that involved studying how one of the most noxious substances, phenol, could be eliminated from water.

National and European officials have limited the dumping of the pollutant. However, many companies generate this toxic product in such a way that contamination of water by phenol is frequent.

Sevillano developed a bioreactor, a polymer capable of retaining the organic contaminants. On the surface of the polymer a series of micro-organisms appear that destroy the phenol, removing the toxin from the water.

Besides being a method that produces no noxious by-products, the bioreactor developed is low-cost and takes little space.

URL: www.upi.com