How can water quality be continuously monitored?
The challenge
Monitoring water quality, and early detection of unwanted toxins, is essential in a wide range of areas including public and industrial water supplies, wastewater discharges from industry, and the output of wastewater treatment plants.
Conventional testing procedures involve taking intermittent samples, and typically provide only one test result in 15-30 minutes. To ensure effective protection of water quality requires continuous monitoring and immediate identification of contaminants, and demands a step change in water monitoring technology.
The solution
Research at Cardiff University identified deep-sea bacteria, vibrio fischeri, that are extremely sensitive to minute changes in water quality. Their bioluminescence can be used to detect the presence of potentially toxic substances of chemical or biological origin, and immediately warn of suspicious changes.
This fundamental scientific research underpinned the subsequent development by university spin out company Cymtox Ltd (now part of Modern Water plc) of a novel water toxicity monitor, the Mictotox CTM. This fully automatic instrument continuously monitors the chemical toxicity of a water source, taking 2 measurements per second, and gives an instantaneous indication of water health.
The Mictotox CTM monitor detects thousands of chemical compounds with lower levels of detection than most other biosensor systems, and operates on a 4-week autonomous cycle with no manual intervention other than for monthly maintenance. The collaboration between the University’s School of Biosciences and Cymtox won the 2011 Cardiff University Innovation Award.
Professor David Lloyd, whose team developed the technology used in the monitor said: "We have been developing water related technology for almost fifty years. By developing continuous cultures of Vibrio fischeri we are able to continuously monitor marine river or lake water which may have become polluted or interfered with and can immediately identify a problem that has to be dealt with urgently.”
Research at Cardiff University identified deep-sea bacteria, vibrio fischeri, that are extremely sensitive to minute changes in water quality. Their bioluminescence can be used to detect the presence of potentially toxic substances of chemical or biological origin, and immediately warn of suspicious changes.
This fundamental scientific research underpinned the subsequent development by university spin out company Cymtox Ltd (now part of Modern Water plc) of a novel water toxicity monitor, the Mictotox CTM. This fully automatic instrument continuously monitors the chemical toxicity of a water source, taking 2 measurements per second, and gives an instantaneous indication of water health.
The Mictotox CTM monitor detects thousands of chemical compounds with lower levels of detection than most other biosensor systems, and operates on a 4-week autonomous cycle with no manual intervention other than for monthly maintenance. The collaboration between the University’s School of Biosciences and Cymtox won the 2011 Cardiff University Innovation Award.
Professor David Lloyd, whose team developed the technology used in the monitor said: "We have been developing water related technology for almost fifty years. By developing continuous cultures of Vibrio fischeri we are able to continuously monitor marine river or lake water which may have become polluted or interfered with and can immediately identify a problem that has to be dealt with urgently.”
Resulting benefits
The Microtox CTM system has made fully automatic, continuous, on-line water quality testing a reality, and enables contamination measures to be taken in time to protect against serious contamination events. A major advantage over most other analytical methods is that it is able to detect contaminants whether or not there is prior knowledge of the potential source or nature of contamination.
Future directions
The monitor is marketed worldwide by UK company Modern Water plc and has achieved significant export sales, in particular into the growing water quality testing market in China.
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