Grant: Alliance Grants

Pharmaceuticals are considered intractable and easily transported into the water system. As a result, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are unsuccessful in completely removing these contaminants. The successful removal of these pharmaceuticals depends on the removal and purification technologies that are being used and the physiochemical properties exhibited by these pharmaceuticals. Thus far, several classes of pharmaceuticals have been detected in aquatic environments globally, these classes include antiretroviral drugs (ARV). Recent research from Canada concludes that WWTPs are sources of contaminants in local water supplies and there is a defined impact on aquatic organisms. In addition, water quality in Canada's North is an ongoing issue in Indigenous communities, which for too long has led to inequality in their access to clean drinking water. The objective of this international collaboration with the Durban University of Technology in South Africa is to develop a reliable and robust new membrane filtration system to remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater. This affects communities in Canada's northern and remote regions as well as rural South Africa. Both locations suffer from inadequate water treatment. By teaming up, the researchers hope to expand the impact of their individual work to improve equality in clean water access.