Skip to content
Snippets Groups Projects
Commit 31ff0185 authored by Devmc's avatar Devmc
Browse files

fix human-practices.html

parent 5799086b
No related branches found
No related tags found
No related merge requests found
Pipeline #61035 passed
Stage: build
Stage: deploy
Hide whitespace changes
Inline Side-by-side
wiki/pages/human-practices.html
+ 170
− 41
View file @ 31ff0185
......@@ -490,47 +490,176 @@
</section>
<section>
<h2>Field Research</h2>
<p>
Since our research is about heavy metal detection, we went to a local waterworks (Suzhou Industrial Park
Qingyuan Huayan Water Co., Lt) to learn the wastewater treatment process and figured out how heavy metals will
be discharged by traditional process.
</p>
<div class="imager">
<img class="rw-50"
src="https://static.igem.wiki/teams/4288/wiki/ihp/t-fujian-united-ihp-12.jpg"
alt="">
<span class="figure">
Figure 12. Inside views of the
</span>
</div>
<p>
The manager tell us after the wastewater is collected by the drainage system, it enters the grating well of
the wastewater treatment station to remove the particulate debris and then enters the regulating tank for
homogenization and equalization, and the pre-aeration system is set in the regulating tank, and then the
signal is transmitted by the liquid level controller and sent to the primary sedimentation tank by the lifting
pump for precipitation. Biological contact oxidation tank for aerobic biochemical reaction, where most of the
organic pollutants are degraded by biological oxidation and adsorption, and the effluent flows to the
secondary sedimentation tank for solid-liquid separation.
</p>
<p>
In these processes, we find that each step has strict indicators to control the filtration of water quality,
the residue of heavy metals through the microorganisms in the pool to filter and adjust, the very small
probability will lead to the leakage of heavy metals, and in the final discharge process there will be a
special person to carry out water sample sampling. It is clear that the product we have developed might not be
suitable for large companies like waterworks, since we cannot analyze every specific component of the water
sample and they don’t require quick detection. After this trip, we are more clear about the profile of our
potential users who will be individual aqua culturists or normal families who have concerns about the drinking
water and look for handy as well as a cheap detection method to avoid drinking heavy metal polluted water.
</p>
<div class="imager">
<img class="rw-85"
src="https://static.igem.wiki/teams/4288/wiki/ihp/t-fujian-united-ihp-13.jpg"
alt="">
<span class="figure">
Figure 13. The manager took us around the waterworks
</span>
</div>
<h2>Stakeholder Research</h2>
<section>
<h3 class="upper">1. Qingyuan Huayan Waterworks</h3>
<p>
Since our research is about heavy metal detection, we went to a local waterworks (Suzhou Industrial Park
Qingyuan Huayan Water Co., Lt) to learn the wastewater treatment process and figured out how heavy metals
will
be discharged by traditional process.
</p>
<div class="imager">
<img class="rw-50"
src="https://static.igem.wiki/teams/4288/wiki/ihp/t-fujian-united-ihp-12.jpg"
alt="">
<span class="figure">
Figure 12. Inside views of the
</span>
</div>
<p>
The manager tell us after the wastewater is collected by the drainage system, it enters the grating well of
the wastewater treatment station to remove the particulate debris and then enters the regulating tank for
homogenization and equalization, and the pre-aeration system is set in the regulating tank, and then the
signal is transmitted by the liquid level controller and sent to the primary sedimentation tank by the
lifting
pump for precipitation. Biological contact oxidation tank for aerobic biochemical reaction, where most of
the
organic pollutants are degraded by biological oxidation and adsorption, and the effluent flows to the
secondary sedimentation tank for solid-liquid separation.
</p>
<p>
In these processes, we find that each step has strict indicators to control the filtration of water quality,
the residue of heavy metals through the microorganisms in the pool to filter and adjust, the very small
probability will lead to the leakage of heavy metals, and in the final discharge process there will be a
special person to carry out water sample sampling. It is clear that the product we have developed might not
be
suitable for large companies like waterworks, since we cannot analyze every specific component of the water
sample and they don’t require quick detection. After this trip, we are more clear about the profile of our
potential users who will be individual aqua culturists or normal families who have concerns about the
drinking
water and look for handy as well as a cheap detection method to avoid drinking heavy metal polluted water.
</p>
<div class="imager">
<img class="rw-85"
src="https://static.igem.wiki/teams/4288/wiki/ihp/t-fujian-united-ihp-13.jpg"
alt="">
<span class="figure">
Figure 13. The manager took us around the waterworks
</span>
</div>
</section>
<section>
<h3>3. Jinke Environmental Ltd.</h3>
<p>
In order to have a better understanding of current solutions for wastewater processing, we managed to
contact Jinke Water Engineering Co., Ltd through a phone call. Jinke focuses on providing membrane system
solutions for water and sewage treatment, recycled water recycling, and seawater desalination, and is
committed to using the company's proprietary technology and resources to purify water to any standard
required by customers.
</p>
<div class="imager">
<img class="rw-85"
src="https://static.igem.wiki/teams/4288/wiki/ihp/t-fujian-united-ihp-14.jpg"
alt="">
<span class="figure">
Our members was interviewing the staff from Jinke
</span>
</div>
<section class="indent-0">
<p>Below listed our phone interview conversations:</p>
<p>Q1: We understand that the main business of your company is to provide advanced water treatment. May I
ask which technology your company mainly utilizes to use to treat the wastewater? And why? <br>
A: We use membrane treatment technology (physical method) which does not produce any additional chemicals
and is mainly for deep treatment (tertiary treatment). Of course, it still has weaknesses in that it has
difficulty dealing with those thick water.
</p>
<p>Q2: Is water polluted by heavy metals included in your business? How does the treatment of heavy metal
polluted water differ from other sewage treatment methods? <br>
A: It depends on the water quality of different places, according to different kinds of metal ions meant
to be removed to make different treatments.
</p>
<p>Q3: What are your company's product positioning and target customers? <br>
A: 1. Water companies <br>
2. Industrial companies (semiconductors, electronics) <br>
3. The relevant associations which target water pollution, water shortage, and water safety.
</p>
<p>Q4: Do you know the government's policy and tax support for heavy metal detection products or such
companies? <br>
A: Yes, like, taxes reduction (about 15%) and government subsidies. In addition, generally speaking, the
policy tends to improve the standard of drinking water and promote the development of the industry.
</p>
<p>Q5: We know there will be a big leap from technology to product. May I ask how your company's products
landed? What are the main concerns or risks we need to consider or avoid? <br>
A: In our company, take the example of the iron and manganese removal solution. We went through the whole
loop, including Developing a topic - developing a scheme - conducting a test - writing a report - applying
for a patent - small test/pilot test - application operation. <br>
If it is not accepted by other companies, they will invest in it themselves and then apply it to the water
plant.
</p>
<p>
After communicating with Jinke, we learned about current methods to process wastewater but also realized
that there is still many limitation and challenges which also proved that our product, a heavy metal
detection biosensor is necessary for end users. In addition, we also learned from their experience in
developing new technologies and landing the solution which will help us dress the future plans for
sustainable development.
</p>
</section>
</section>
<section>
<h3>2. Zhanjiang Zhengda ENT Hospital</h3>
<p>
In addition to the wastewater from the chemical plants, we also noticed those medical waste which usually
requires special treatment. Therefore, we managed to contact Zhanjiang Zhengda ENT Hospital and we had a
phone call with the staff there who is responsible for the medical waste treatment.
</p>
<p>
Firstly the staff introduced the harm of medical waste if it is not well disposed of. Since he has worked in
this position for a long time, based on his experience, the most commonly used method is to burn waste to
dust. However, we all agreed that it is not eco-friendly. Therefore we further asked if it still has the
risk of affecting the health of those who conduct the process. Although the answer wasn't that clear, he
admitted that those staff will receive some allowance and the government will buy them medical insurance
accordingly. He also added that they will have to conduct the medical waste process every 24 or 48 hours.
All in all, we were very grateful for his sharing. Current waste process methods for medical waste still
have risks of spreading pollution and those workers who work in the first line of waste treatment shall be
of our target customers who are exposed to the pollution for a very long time.
</p>
</section>
<section>
<h3>4. Dye Factory (Suzhou Chuangyuan Chemical Co., Ltd.)</h3>
<p>
Based on our investigation from people around us, there is a common concern that dyes may contain heavy
metals which means how well the dye factory treats its wastewater really matters. Therefore, we took a visit
to a dye factory nearby, whose focus is on industrial oil paint, as well as chemical coatings.
</p>
<p>
The factory manager admitted that their products may have environmental impacts through different pathways:
volatile organic compounds (VOC) components in their products may enter the atmosphere; methylbenzene and
dimethylbenzene used may also be polluted into the environment.
</p>
<div class="imager">
<img class="rw-75"
src="https://static.igem.wiki/teams/4288/wiki/ihp/t-fujian-united-ihp-16.jpg"
alt="">
<span class="figure">
The manager introduced the production procedure to us and we had a discussion on the wastewater treatment
</span>
</div>
<p>
When we asked them how these compounds were disposed of, it is said that now they strictly follow relevant
regulations, and transfer their waste to professional water treatment plants to be treated. However, still,
those water plants will treat their wastewater through normal procedures rather than designing special
solutions to treat them differently. This could result in the accumulation of toxic components in the oil
paint and coatings, and as it has been done for many years, could already be harmful to nearby residents.
</p>
<p>
According to the manager's sharing, we looked into the manufacturing process of their oil paint, and we have
discovered that the production of their oil paint may result in contamination by heavy metals, especially
during storage, where the solvent in the paint may interact with the metal storage barrels to take away
those heavy metal ions.
</p>
<p>
This may not only pose a threat of long-term accumulation in the users of these oil paints, and workers in
the factory but also potentially be leaked into their nearby river, posing threat to downstream residents.
After a frank conversation with the manager of the dye factory, we realized that actually there are many
potential risks to human health from the surroundings.
</p>
</section>
</section>
<section>
......
0% or .
You are about to add 0 people to the discussion. Proceed with caution.
Finish editing this message first!
Please register or to comment