Unscripted Research Blog

Removing viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus, from wastewater is important. So too is treating wastewater to remove parasitic worms, which affect more than 1 billion people worldwide. In the last several years, Jennifer Becker and Eric Seagren, environmental engineers at Michigan Technological University, have developed treatment methods for biosolids, which are produced during wastewater treatment and often spread on land to improve soil quality and plant growth. Their sustainable, low-cost and low-tech methods can be utilized in smaller communities with relatively few wastewater treatment plant operators and resources, as well as in developing countries where wastewater treatment facilities are extremely limited.