Science Scene

Below is an article from our local paper, the South Bend Tribune.  While reading the paper today, Beth suggested this would make a good Science Scene entry for Bucko :o). Thanks Honey.

 

As I was looking at the orginal article, my thought was, how does the nasty stuff get into the pipe?  The article hints at sewer and ethanol (we do have an ethanol plant outside the city, but not anywhere near the intersection mentioned below).  My conclusion is that the ethanol plant must have some discharge that goes into the city sewer. 

 

Even though this article is not as well written as Beth's entries at Nutwood Junction, the bottom line message is still valid.  First, what a great time to be an environmental engineer, and what a great profession where you can help solve problems.  Second, thinking outside the box can really result in some innovative solutions to long standing problems.  Kudos to the city engineers, etc., that pursued this idea.  Lastly, bioengineering really has the potential to help our environment, from scrubbing smells, cleaning up superfund sites, helping with our digestion, and the list goes on.....

 

See the details below, and keep Mother Earth in mind as you go about your daily activities :o)  

 

 

SOUTH BEND -- Another spring scent may be used to mask the nasty sewer and ethanol odor that usually fills the air on the city's west side. 

 

A flower bed will be planted at the corner of Riverside Drive and Lafayette near the Leeper Park tennis courts.  But it's not just any flower bed. Beneath the blooms is biotechnology that the city hopes will help control odors and replace the old scrubbing system.

 [Picture added, not part of article]

City engineer Carl Littrell said the underground system will consist of a perforated pipe, surrounded by a layer of gravel, which is covered by mulch. The air in the pipe -- with the noxious hydrogen sulfide and other smells -- will disperse through the gravel and mulch. Littrell said the bacteria that occur naturally in the mulch will absorb the odors. "The scrubber is actually the mulch," he said.

The roughly 2,500-square-foot garden bed atop the biofilter system will also help mask the odors. It won't be perfume, Littrell said, but it will help.

Environmental engineering firm Symbiont will install the system and work with the city greenhouses on what type of flowers will work best in the garden. Littrell said the plants have to be able to handle the pH levels that reach them and a wet environment.

The city discussed many options with Symbiont, Littrell said, some which would've cost in the "six figures." The garden bed project is expected to cost around $50,000 and will go out for bid this spring.

Littrell said the garden bed will cost less to operate than the old scrubber system that used an activated charcoal canister that had carbons in it. Those filters had to be changed at least once a month,he said, and were messy to deal with. The flowers in the garden bed only require replanting every few years, Littrell said.

Tags: Enviornment, Bacteria, Flowers, South Bend