Renovation of the Environmental Engineering BioProcessing Laboratory

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The treatment of large quantities of water and wastewater has relied for decades upon the use of inexpensive biological reactors in centralized treatment facilities. More frequently the treatment of contaminated soils is accomplished by microbial treatment technologies by developing conditions for microbial degradation of pollutants in soils, or by stimulating in-situ degradation of microbes capable of degrading target pollutants in contaminated soils, and ground water aquifers by injecting chemical or microorganisms. Several groups at the University of Arizona are involved in basics and applied research in which new microbial- based techniques and processes are developed to reduce remediation costs and the time required for cleanup. Currently groups participating in this research, representing the disciplines of Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Soil, Water and Environmental Science, are dispersed among several locations. Funds from the ARI Program and the University will be used to renovate an existing laboratory to consolidate support facilities into a single Environmental Engineering BioProcessing Laboratory (EEBL). The targeted space for the EEBL is located in the basement of the Civil Engineering Building constructed in the early 1970's. Existing conditions make the laboratory unsuitable to conduct modern research. Renovations will consist of: installing lab benches, modifying electrical and plumbing systems, and improving the HVAC. New built-in facilities will include: a fume hood, a walk in refrigerator, a water softening system, acid and base storage cabinets, and a volatile chemical storage cabinet. Centralizing environmentally related bioreactor work into a single facility will provide an important resource for researchers interested in microbial processes. The project will be instrumental in promoting collaborative interactions among faculty and students interested in bioremediation and other microbial-based processes, and ultimately produce high quality research in environmental microbiology and bioprocessing and general biotechnology activities at the University.