Bioman wins UK Energy Globe award

Monday 15 January 2007
Bioman wins UK Energy Globe award
A device designed at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (UWA) to remove toxic metal pollution from water flowing from disused mines it the winner of the UK Energy Globe award for 2006.

BIOMAN (Bioabsorption of metals from abandoned mine sites) has been developed by an international team of scientists (Universities of Sheffield and Bologna in Italy) and led by Dr Bill Perkins from the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences at UWA. The work has been funded with the contribution of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Commission with a €1.4m grant.

Consisting of a large tea bag-like structure filled with dealginated seaweed (a by-product of an industrial process to make food additives) housed in a water tank, Bioman has been undergoing field trials in mid Wales and Italy.

Key to the process is the dealginated seaweed's ion-exchange capacity. Initial laboratory tests and the field trials completed to date have shown that dealginated seaweed is very effective at trapping the principal mine water pollutants such as zinc, lead and cadmium, as the water flows through the tank.
Speaking of the award Dr Bill Perkins said:
“This award recognises the excellent work that has been done by the team. It is a very simple, effective and sustainable piece of equipment and the potential benefits world wide, given the extent of river water pollution arising from old mine workings, are enormous.”

“The situation in Ceredigion alone gives one an idea of the extent of the problem. Here a large number of the mines continue to pollute the surrounding environment many years after they closed – which in some cases is over a 100 years. The problem has not improved over the years and the level of pollution is unlikely to fall dramatically in future – a fact highlighted by a recent Environment Agency report. Bioman offers an effective solution to the problem,” he added.

Working with Dr Perkins are Dr Nick Pearce and Miss Suzanne Hartley at UWA; Dr Robert Edyvean, Dr Geoff Preistman, Dr Lynn Sandlands and Dr Robert Bachmann from the School of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Sheffield and Dr Enrico Dinelli from the Department of Geo-environmental Sciences at the University of Bologna.

The Energy Globe
The Energy Globe (http://www.energyglobe.info/geg/frontend/view.php), also known as ‘The world award for sustainability', is awarded to projects from all over the world which make careful and economical use of resources and employ alternative energy sources. The winning projects are presented in the categories earth, fire, water, air and youth at a tv gala, which is broadcast by international TV stations reaching 2.5 billion households.

The winners in each category (regional, national, continental and world) are chosen by a group of experts with representatives from the UN, UNIDO, World Bank, EREC (European Renewable Energy Council), research institute Seibersdorf, relevant ministries, etc. The finalists are selected by the international Energy Globe Jury with representatives from all continents, chaired by Maneka Gandhi.