Study develops mercury-absorbing sponge
Researchers from the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Sciences have developed a sponge capable of absorbing mercury contamination at high rates, according to an article in Interesting Engineering. The sponge, which uses a thin selenium surface over the polyurethane sponge, nanotechnology can absorb mercury from industrial wastewater in five minutes. The article says, "If Como Lake (not to be confused with Italy’s Lake Como) which spans 280,000 square meters was contaminated with mercury at the EPA’s limit, it would only take a basketball-sized sponge to remove the mercury." The sponge also converts the substance, make it biodegradable.
Metering pumps market reach $5.22B by 2021
A new report from MarketsandMarkets expects the metering pumps market to reach $5.22 billion by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 6.2 percent over the period. Market growth is expected to come from increasing demand for the pumps’ usage in water treatment, petrochemicals, oil and gas, chemical processing, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, and pulp and paper industries. The water treatment sector, including drinking water purification and wastewater treatment, accounted for the major share of revenue. Asia-Pacific, currently the leading market, is expected to continue to grow, especially among end-use demand, with China continuing to lead the way as the largest market. Diaphragm metering pumps accounted for the largest segment within the market.
UV lamps market to experience double-digit CAGR growth
The global UV lamps market is expected to increase revenue by $523.8 million by 2025, growing by a double-digit compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the period, according to a Future Market Insights report. UV lamps, which are commonly used in water and wastewater treatment as well as for other disinfection purposes, is segmented by lamp type including UV mercury lamps, which accounted for 90 percent of 2014 sales and the UV LED segment, which accounted for 4 percent of sales. The UV LED segment is anticipated to grow at a double-digit pace during the forecast period.