Development of a nanoparticle-based sensing platform for waterborne ionic polymers.

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Industrial operations such as mining, road building and aggregate washing result in high concentrations of suspended particles in effluent waters. Due to their small size, the suspended particles do not settle rapidly and are easily transported over long distances in flowing water. The use of large settling ponds is the most often used treatment for removal of suspended sediments from drainage waters prior to release into natural waters. Secondary treatment by chemical coagulation and flocculation (e.g., primarily cationic polymer flocculants) is often warranted to remove these suspended particles before discharge to the environment. This is because high concentrations of suspended particles (in scientific literature referred to as total suspended sediments, total suspended solids or TSS) in water are known to cause adverse effects in many aquatic organisms, including fish. Therefore, there are strict regulatory guidelines set for the removal of TSS from industrial effluent waters, especially when they discharge into relatively clear, fish-bearing mountain streams. The development of a simple, robust and cost-effective technique to accurately measure the concentration of cationic polymer in industrial and natural waters is absolutely essential to allow for later dosing and mitigation of polymer. This project will see researchers at the University of Alberta work with staff at Clearflow Inc. to examine the feasibility of the optical based approach based upon nanomaterials and develop methods and standard protocols to measure the efficacy of optical based technique for a number of different polymers.