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Home / Research

Research

Sustainability in the Desert

From Mineral Recovery to Reusable Water

The University of Arizona is a top research and development institution in a semi-arid desert where mining is a major industry. That makes UA chemical and environmental engineering a go-to for studies in areas such as reusable water, renewable energy and waste cleanup.

Perhaps most importantly, CHEE researchers are known for far surpassing expectations, and getting results.

  • Researchers not only are cleaning up mine tailings – they are also developing bio-refinery technology to recover valuable materials from mine waste.
  • CHEE engineers are not just designing water treatment systems for the masses – they’re also delivering low-cost, solar-powered groundwater filtration to remote communities.
  • Researchers didn’t stop with sensors to keep molten salts from corroding pipes –  they continued with high-temperature molten salts for copper extraction from ore and energy recovery from metal refining.
  • UA chemical and environmental experts aren’t just figuring out how to turn plants into rubber, resin, polysaccharide and biofuels – they’re doing it using wastewater and desert shrubs.

Focus Areas

CHEE – with annual research expenditures of $5 million – conducts research in these primary areas:

  • Water Treatment and Reuse     
  • Semiconductor Manufacturing
  • Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry     
  • Electrochemical Processes
  • Nanotechnology
  • Bioremediation
  • Applied Quantum Chemistry
  • Renewable Energy

Project Highlights

Extracting Value from Mine Tailings

Professor Jim Field, director of the Dean Carter Binational Center for Environmental Health Sciences, is using microorganisms from sewage sludge to extract valuable elements from mining residues.

Some include extremely valuable elements like tellurium, which are critical in making solar panels and many other products.

Clean Semiconductor Manufacturing

Professor Reyes Sierra and a multi-university team, including students in her lab, found brief exposure to nanoparticles used in semiconductor manufacturing poses little risk to people or the environment.

Minus a few proprietary ingredients, our slurries were exactly the same as those used by companies like Intel and IBM.

Desert Bioeconomy

Professor Kim Ogden, who heads the Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions Center, is leading UA efforts to mass produce biofuels and bioproducts in a desert environment.

We'll serve as a test bed for other regions, and demonstrate how to utilize the entire part of the plant to make products in arid regions. The research…will be transferrable across the world.

Water for Rural Communities

Adjunct professor Vicky Karanikola is developing water purification systems for groundwater high in salinity and contaminated with metals, including uranium.

“It can provide water for the Navajo Nation for many, many decades if we treat it.”

Clouds, Aerosols and Climate Change

Award-winning associate professor Armin Sorooshian and his team are studying aerosol-cloud interactions to help predict climate change.

We do the detailed measurements of aerosols and gases and clouds so we can have a better understanding of what humans and natural emissions are doing to the planet.

Award-Winning Water Reuse Systems

Professor Shane Snyder, co-director of the Water & Energy Sustainable Technology Center, is designing wastewater treatment and water reuse systems.

We have demonstrated a novel design that is more efficient and effective than conventional water reuse systems.

Invention Born of Necessity

Professor Dominic Gervasio and colleagues have worked with Tech Launch Arizona on two startups, one to market a high-temp sensor that monitors corrosion of pipes carrying molten materials, and another to commercialize technology for molten-salt ore extraction.

We needed a reference electrode that worked in our molten salt processes, but none were available, so we invented one.

Research Centers and Facilities

UA chemical and environmental engineering faculty members lead these UA centers and institutes:

  • Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing
  • Sustainable Bioeconomy for Arid Regions Center
  • Water & Energy Sustainable Technology Center

CHEE faculty and students are integral to UA and multi-university research at the following centers, among others:

  • BIO5 Institute
  • Dean Carter Binational Center for Environmental Health Sciences and Toxicology
  • Superfund Basic Research Center
  • Water Resources Research Center
  • Center for Environmentally Sustainable Mining

See UA College of Engineering-affiliated Research Centers and Institutes.

Featured Videos

Aerosol Particles, Climate Change

Armin Sorooshian

Water Contamination, Treatment

Shane Snyder

Bioreactors, Algal Biofuels

Kim Ogden

Air and Water Contaminants

Eduardo Sáez

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Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering
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Tucson, AZ 85721
520.621.6044

© 2019 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of The University of Arizona.