Bargaining for Clean Water: Why Dean Kamen Invented the Coca-Cola Freestyle

The Coke Freestyle

The technology Kamen used to develop the Freestyle Coca-Cola soda fountain is similar to that in his prescription pumps.1

By Jael Batty

When Kamen asked Coke for help distributing his water purifier, Coke challenged Kamen to develop a better soda fountain first.

Dean Kamen, Inventor of Medical Technology

The inventor of the Segway, Dean Kamen is known in the scientific community for developing medical equipment. His inventions include a wearable prescription pump for insulin and chemotherapy, a microdosing prescription pump for infants, and a home dialysis machine.When Kamen realized his dialysis machine required too much distilled water and energy for home use, he developed a system to purify tap water that would run on less power than a hairdryer. Continue reading

World Soil Day is December 5

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations sponsors World Soil Day every December 5 to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and the sustainable management of soil resources. Sponsored every year since 2014, this year’s theme focuses on soil pollution. Here is an excerpt from the World Soil Day Website:

“These days pollution is a worry – and soil is also affected. Soil pollution is a hidden danger that lurks beneath our feet. Continue reading

The Impact of Commonly Abused and Illicit Drugs in Wastewater Treatment

By Heather Jennings, PE, Senior Project Engineer for Probiotic Solutions®

I was attending a wastewater conference and overheard an operator talking about how a drug bust turned his lagoon orange and almost put him out of compliance with his permit. At another location, I was told that the city I was visiting had been hit by an unexpected source of ammonia that almost “wiped out” their bugs. I asked an operator if it was possible that the influent to his wastewater system might have illicit drugs in it. His reply was to the effect that, although he frequently found drug paraphernalia in his screens, he didn’t know of any illicit drugs being present in his system. So, I started wondering what illicit drug impacts really have on wastewater systems. The following is what I found. Continue reading

Recovering Wastewater Treatment Activated Sludge Systems After Hurricane Irma

By Heather Jennings, PE

Hurricane Irma hit Southern Florida in early September as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 180 miles per hour.  Due to flooding and lack of power, millions of gallons of untreated or partially treated wastewater were spilled or discharged from overwhelmed systems Continue reading

How to Reduce SVI and Foam in Activated Sludge Plants

In this short video, Shawn Whitmer, PE, discusses how foam and settling caused by filamentous bacteria can create problems for municipal activated sludge wastewater treatment plants. Our Probiotic Solutions® liquid stimulant product, Bio Genesis®, can help facilities take a bioremediation approach to improve treatment performance; reduce foam, SVI, sludge, and FOG; and decrease energy costs. Continue reading

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