ISTC News Highlights
ISTC provides technical assistance from a distance
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic prevents our TAP engineers from conducting in-person site visits, they’re still here to help your business or community with:
- Answers to questions related to waste reduction, water and energy efficiency and conservation
- Guidance on institutional water treatment, particularly given recent changes to building use patterns
- Greening your supply chain
- Sustainability visioning, goal setting, planning and communication with stakeholders
- Information on alternative technologies and processes to reduce resource consumption, hazardous material use, and emissions
- General recommendations for process improvement, which can increase your productivity while reducing your negative environmental footprint
ISTC project set to improve ag sustainability
A newly developed system in the lab could become a boon for farmers in the field. Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) scientist Wei Zheng and colleagues are creating a designer carbon-based biochar that captures phosphorus from tile drain runoff water and recycles it in soils to improve crop growth.
ISTC develops greener biofuels process
Kirtika Kohli and BK Sharma have been busy in the lab creating a greener delignification method for biofuels refinery processes. Many see biofuels as a viable alternative to fossil fuels because they are renewable and can reduce carbon emissions through plant growth. However, biomass needs to be processed before it can be converted to biofuels.
Institutional Water Treatment program now tests facilities for bacterium causing Legionnaires’ disease
ISTC’s Institutional Water Treatment (IWT) program now offers testing of water sources for Legionella, the bacterium that causes Legionnaires’ disease. The IWT services group gives advice on controlling corrosion, mineral scale formation, and biological growth for facilities with institutional water systems.
