Special Water Environment Research Explores Advantages of Highly Renewable and Productive Algae-Based Technologies

The open access article for the January 2016 special edition of Water Environment Research (WER) explores the selective use of hypochlorite to prevent pond crashes for algae-biofuel production. As a promising renewable energy source, algae biofuel technologies have a number of significant advantages, including a reduced water footprint and increased productivity rate that is more than 10 times higher than fuel derived from some traditional agriculture products.

“The papers in this special edition demonstrate that algal-based technology can have profound implications for sustainable management of water resource recovery facilities,” said Rao Surampelli, WER special edition author and president and chief executive officer at the Global Institute for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability. “Although more research is needed to demonstrate the practicality, economics, and sustainability of different algae-based technologies, this research spotlights the importance of a societal shift from the traditional “take, make, and waste” approach to more thoughtful closed-loop water and resource management.”

Selected WER articles such as this one are available free to the public on a monthly basis through an open-access program. 

Published by the Water Environment Federation since 1928, WER is a popular professional journal that features peer-reviewed research papers and research notes, as well as state-of-the-art and critical reviews on original, fundamental, and applied research in all scientific and technical areas related to water quality, pollution control, and management.

Originally known as the Sewage Works Journal, WER is available in both print and online formats and receives approximately 400 new research submissions each year.