Industrial and Mining Water Research Unit
| Type | Research Unit |
|---|---|
| Established | 2011 |
Academic staff | 5 |
| Postgraduates | 30+ |
| Location |
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa 26°11′35.14″S 28°01′46.95″E / 26.1930944°S 28.0297083°ECoordinates: 26°11′35.14″S 28°01′46.95″E / 26.1930944°S 28.0297083°E |
| Campus | East campus |
| Website | IMWaRU webpage |
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The Industrial and Mining Water Research Unit (abbreviated IMWaRU) is one of several research entities based in the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It provides research as well as supervision to masters and doctorate students within the University; as well as consulting to industry.[1]
Unit Structure
The unit deals with cross disciplinary water issues relating to industry and mining.[2][3] As such the group includes experts in chemical engineering, microbiology and other sciences.
The current group includes five senior lecturers from the University and over 20 masters and doctoral level postgraduate students in the faculties of engineering and science.[4]
Logo
IMWaRU icon
The logo of the Unit is in the shape of a drop of water, with the left half representing the blue of water.
The right half of the drop is modified to show grass and how water is linked to all life. Underneath the icon are the letters IMWaRU, while to the right, the name "Industrial and Mining Water Research Unit" appears.
Location
Richard Ward Building, to the right, home to the Industrial and Mining Water Research Unit.
The unit is housed in several buildings across the University, most notably in the Richard Ward Building on East campus.[5] Additionally, members are located in the Biology Building and have access to laboratories in the building.
They also have access to an outdoor facility on West Campus where constructed wetland, and other outdoor, experiments take place.
Research
2nd floor laboratories of the Richard Ward Building, upgraded in 2013 for use by IMWaRU and others.
The group has a broad range of research publications in the areas as listed below:[6]
- Acid mine drainage (AMD) - methods of reducing, treating and managing AMD.[7][8]
- Constructed wetlands (CW) - waste water remediation through natural biological processes.[9]
- Ecological Engineering
- Grade Engineering
- Industrial biotechnology - the use of biotechnology in water related applications e.g. for water purification and water reduction.
- Industrial Ecology - the use of sustainability principles in reducing environmental impacts; particularly relating to water.
- Life-cycle assessment (LCA) - quantification and minimisation of liquid/solid/gaseous waste at sites which include food processing, industrial bioprocessing and other sites.[10][11][12][13]
- Membrane technology
- Nanotechnology
- Ozone - determination of optimal treatment techniques for cooling water purification systems, chemical vs ozone.
- Water footprinting (WF) - quantification and minimisation of water use on, amongst others, mine and paper/pulp sites.[14][15][16][17]
Collaboration
The unit actively collaborates with the Schools of Law, Chemistry, Civil and Mining Engineering[1] as well as the Global Change and Sustainability Research Institute at the university. They have also collaborated with the Universities of Cape Town, Geneva, Queensland and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
IMWaRU has had several Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) projects run through Wits Enterprise.
The unit exhibited with several other groups at Mine Closure 2014.[18]
Presentations
Constructed wetland equipment used in research experiments by the group.
Members of the group have had presentations given at:
- South African Institution of Chemical Engineering 2012 (Champagne Sports Resorts, South Africa);[19][20][21][22]
- Water Institute of Southern Africa 2012 (Cape Town, South Africa);[9]
- International Conference on Energy, Nanotechnology and Environmental Sciences 2013 (Johannesburg, South Africa);[23]
- International Conference on Power Science and Engineering 2013 (Paris, France);[24]
- Water in Mining 2013 (Brisbane, Australia);[25][26]
- Water in Mining 2014 (Viña del Mar, Chile);[27][28]
- Water Institute of Southern Africa 2014 (Mbombela, South Africa);[29][30][31][32]
- International Conference on Acid Rock Drainage 2015 (Santiago, Chile);[33]
- 25th Annual SETAC European Meeting (Barcelona, Spain) 2015;[34]
- African Utility Week 2015 (Cape Town, South Africa);[35]
- Sustainability Week 2015 (Water Resource Seminar) (Pretoria, South Africa);[36]
- Life Cycle Management 2015 (Bordeaux, France);[37][38][39][40]
- School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering 21st Birthday conference[41][42] and more.
Awards
The IMWaRU group was awarded a special presentation award at the GAP Bioscience gala dinner in December 2014 for work on remediating AMD using biological substrates.[43]
References
- 1 2 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Research Units: IMWaRU, retrieved 6 November 2014.
- ↑ Cornish, L, 2014. Water Research: The foundation for solutions, today and tomorrow, Interview with Dr C. Sheridan, Mining Review Africa, Sept. 2014, Vol 9, p50-52, retrieved 14 November 2014
- ↑ Harding, KG, 2014, Accounting for water use in the process industries, ChemTech, April 2014, p3, retrieved 14 November 2014.
- ↑ IMWaRU, 2014. Industrial and Mining Water Research Unit webpage
- ↑ Google+, IMWaRU, Google Maps location, retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ↑ IMWaRU, Google Scholar listing, Industrial and Mining Water Research Unit member publications, retrieved 14 November 2014.
- ↑ Sheridan , C, 2013. The Toxic Legacy of South Africa’s Gold Rush, IChemE presentation, Mining and Minerals special interest group, retrieved 7 November 2014.
- ↑ Sheridan, C, 2013. Paying the Price, The Chemical Engineer, www.tcetoday.com, 30-32.
- 1 2 Sheridan C, Koller, E, de Pretto, A, 2012. A Comparison of charcoal and slag based constructed wetlands for acid mine drainage remediation, WISA2012, Cape Town, South Africa, 6–10 May 2012, retrieved 14 November 2014.
- ↑ Harding, KG, 2014. LCA Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, UNEP/SETAC Presentation, Pretoria, South Africa.
- ↑ Harding, KG, 2013. A Technique for Reporting Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) Results, Ecol Ind, 34, 1-6.
- ↑ Harding, KG, Dennis, JS, von Blottnitz, H, Harrison, STL, 2008. A Life-Cycle comparison between inorganic or biological catalysis for the production of biodiesel, J. Clean. Prod., 16(13), 1368-1378. ISSN 0959-6526.
- ↑ Sebisto, T, Kharidzha, M, Harding KG, 2015. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Biodiesel, ChemTech, February 2015, 6-11, retrieved 23 March 2015.
- ↑ Sheridan, C, 2014. Water footprinting, UNEP/SETAC Presentation, Pretoria, South Africa.
- ↑ Dhlamini, S, Mkhonza, T, Haggard, E, Osman, A, Crundwell, F, Sheridan, C, Harding KG, 2013. An Introduction to Water Footprinting, Chemical Technology, Jan 2013, 29-33.
- ↑ Haggard, E, Sheridan, CM, Harding, KG, 2015. Quantification of water usage at a South African platinum processing plant, WaterSA, 41(2), 279-286.
- ↑ Ranchod, N, Sheridan, CM, Plint, N, Slater, K, Harding, KG, 2015. Assessing the blue-water footprint of an opencast platinum mine in South Africa, WaterSA, 41(2), 287-293.
- ↑ Mine Closure 2014, Exhibitors list, 9th International Conference on Mine Closure, 1–3 October 2014, Sandton Convention Centre Johannesburg, South Africa, retrieved 7 November 2014.
- ↑ Harding, KG, Mkhonsa, T, 2012. Current Water Accounting Methods for Mining Operations, South African Institution of Chemical Engineering Conference 2012, Champagne Sports Resort, South Africa, 16–19 September 2012.
- ↑ Dwarkapersad, U, Harding, KG, 2012. Life Cycle Assessment on Unilever’s Premium Soap Brands: Lux and Lifebuoy, South African Institution of Chemical Engineering Conference 2012, Champagne Sports Resort, South Africa, 16–19 September 2012.
- ↑ Gina, N, Gina, D, Harding, KG, 2012. Effective and Efficient Ozone Use on Cooling Water Systems, South African Institution of Chemical Engineering Conference 2012, Champagne Sports Resort, South Africa, 16–19 September 2012.
- ↑ Macingwane, M, Harding, KG, 2012. Life Cycle Assessment on a Food Manufacturing Facility, South African Institution of Chemical Engineering Conference 2012, Champagne Sports Resort, South Africa, 16–19 September 2012.
- ↑ Mavukwana, A, Jalama, K, Ntuli, F, Harding, K, 2013. Simulation of sugarcane bagasse gasification using Aspen Plus, International Conference on Energy, Nanotechnology and Environmental Sciences, International Conference Proceedings of Planetary Scientific Research Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa, 15–16 April 2013, p70-74.
- ↑ Mavukwana, A, Jalama, K, Harding, K, 2013. Simulation of South African corncob gasification with Aspen Plus: A sensitivity analysis, International Conference on Power Science and Engineering (ICPSE 2013), Paris, France, 20–12 December 2013.
- ↑ Osman, A, Crundwell, FK, Harding, K, Sheridan, C, Hines, K, Du Toit, A, 2013. Water Accountability and Efficiency at a Base Metals Refinery, Water in Mining 2013, Brisbane, Australia, 26–28 November 2013.
- ↑ Haggard, E, Sheridan, CM, Harding, KG, 2013. Water Footprint for a South African Platinum Mine, Water in Mining 2013, Brisbane, Australia, 26–28 November 2013.
- ↑ Ranchod, N, Sheridan, CM, Plint, N, Slater, K, Harding, KG, 2014. Assessing the Water Footprint and Associated Impacts for a South African Platinum Mining Operation, Water in Mining 2014, Viña del Mar, Chile, 28–30 May 2014.
- ↑ Sheridan, C, Brennan, M, Bye, A, Stange W, Woodley A, 2014. Determining the effect of Grade Engineering® on the water account of a copper mine, Water in Mining, Viña del Mar, Chile, 28–30 May 2014.
- ↑ Sheridan, CM, Janet, JP, Drake, DC, Rumbold, K, Magowo, W, Harding KG, 2014. Increasing Pumping Depth in the Long-term Management of Acid Mine Drainage, WISA2014, Mbombela (Nelspruit), South Africa, 25–28 May 2014.
- ↑ Haggard, E, Sheridan, CM, Harding, KG, 2014. Water Footprint for a South African Platinum Processing Mine, WISA2014, Mbombela (Nelspruit), South Africa, 25–28 May 2014.
- ↑ Ranchod, N, Sheridan, CM, Plint, N, Slater, K, Harding, KG, 2014. Water Accounting for a South African Platinum Mine, WISA2014, Mbombela (Nelspruit), South Africa, 25–28 May 2014.
- ↑ WISA, 2014. Speaker list, Water Institute of Southern Africa 2014 Conference, Mbombela, South Africa, retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ↑ Sheridan, C, Bonner, R, Bruyns, L, Burgess, J, Drake, D, Janet, JP, Harding, K, Rumbold, K, Saber, N, 2015. Conceptual Project on Eliminating Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) by Directed Pumping, ICARD, Santiago, Chile, 21–24 April 2015.
- ↑ Pena, C, Harding, KG, Sonneman, GW, Gemechu, ED, 2015. Material supply opportunity as a new perspective to address the "criticality" issue from a developing countries context: the case of Chile and South Africa, SETAC Europe 25th Annual Meeting, Barcelona, Spain, 3–7 May 2015
- ↑ Harding, KG, 2015. Why is measuring water important?, African Utility Week, Cape Town, South Africa, 13–14 May 2015.
- ↑ Alive2Green, 2015. Water Resource Seminar Speaker list, Sustainability Week 2015, CSIR ICC, Pretoria, South Africa, 23–25 June 2015.
- ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281292495_Water_footprint_analysis_of_the_South_African_%28SA%29_paper_and_pulp_industry
- ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281292750_Status_and_prospects_of_life-cycle_assessment_in_South_Africa?ev=prf_pub
- ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281292682_Water_accounting_methods_for_platinum_mines_in_South_Africa
- ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281293053_Life-cycle_assessment_on_a_starch_facility_in_South_Africa
- ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282151903_Life-Cycle_Assessment_%28LCA%29_on_a_Starch_Facility_in_South_Africa_%28SA%29
- ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282270375_Modelling__%28cradle-to-grave%29_environmental_optimisation_of_industrial_processes
- ↑ CHMT Twitter account, 2014. GAP announcement, retrieved 16 December 2014.
External links
School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, WITS - IMWaRU page
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