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

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
• Superfund Basic Research Center
• Water Resources Research Center
• Center for Environmentally Sustainable Mining

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