Provided herein is a composition comprising high surface area titanium dioxide nanospheres, as well as a process for making the same. Also provided is a composition comprising carbon nanotubes and high surface area titanium dioxide nanospheres, wherein said high surface area titanium dioxide nanospheres are dispersed in said carbon nanotubes. Further provided is a method for making a filter comprising carbon nanotubes, wherein said carbon nanotubes comprise high surface area titanium dioxide nanospheres dispersed therein, as well as filters so produced, and a method of photo-regenerating the filters.

A method of reducing activity of sulfur and/or nitrogen metabolizing bacteria is provided. The method includes adding a composition of an alkali metal salt of chlorite and/or an alkali metal salt of chlorate and hydrogen peroxide to process water of a cooling tower and increasing a concentration of the composition from about 0 ppm to about 300 ppm in about 1 to about 100 minutes. The method results in significant savings of caustic and reduces sulfur and/or nitrogen metabolizing bacteria in the process water.

A method for differentially lysing a liquid sample or target material using an augmented oxidizing agent (AOA), which includes a quantity of electronically modified oxygen derivatives (EMODs). The method reduces or eliminates total dissolved solids (IDS), total suspended solids (TSS), Biologic Oxygen Demand (BOD), microbial concentration, biofilms and other content in the liquid target material known or suspected to contain animal fluids, blood and blood cells and suspected or known to contain eukaryotic cells, microbial cells, bacteria, viruses, spores, fungi, prions, organic matter, minerals, proteins or associated structures. The BOD, TDS and TSS can be lowered or eliminated as desired. This action is directly proportional to the quantity of EMODs in the AOS applied to the liquid target material.

Solid-supported trithiol compounds are prepared. The solid-supported trithiol compounds have formula (I): ##STR00001##
in which R is a linker moiety, X is a solid support, and n≧1. The compounds of formula (I) may be incorporated into methods for removing heavy metals from solutions and into batch systems or filtration apparatus that remove heavy metals from solutions.

An apparatus, system, and method for sanitizing water contained in a pool or a tank, includes a container to hold zeolite crystals that provide a benefit, in a first mode of operation, of removing urea and ammonia from the water as the water passes through the container and the held zeolite crystals, the held zeolite crystals removing the urea and ammonia from the water by retaining the urea and ammonia as the water passes through the container and held zeolite crystals. A switching mechanism permits the held zeolite crystals to undergo a switch into a second mode of operation during which the held zeolite crystals are exposed to a brine solution that reconditions the held zeolite crystals by desorbing from the held zeolite crystals the urea and ammonia that had been adsorbed by the held zeolite crystals during the first mode of operation.

A device for removing microplastics from water. The device has a tank containing water and an oil layer floating on the water. The tank has an inlet for making a mixture of microplastics and water and an outlet for draining clean water. The device has a provision for causing the mixture of microplastics in water to flow through the oil layer wherein microplastics are trapped and clean water flows through the oil layer.

The present invention provides compositions and methods of reducing cyanuric acid levels in recreational water systems.

The present invention relates to compositions for encapsulation of biomaterials in a silica-matrix. The present invention includes a composition for formation of a silica-matrix encapsulated biomaterial. The composition includes a reactive silicon compound and a biomaterial with a catalytic activity. When encapsulated in the silica-matrix, the biomaterial at least partially retains its catalytic activity. The present invention also relates to methods of making silica-matrix encapsulated biomaterials, and to methods of using silica-matrix encapsulated biomaterials, including methods of treating water or gas using the silica-matrix encapsulated biomaterials.

Described herein is a filtration medium comprising a carbon substrate having a surface of CO.sub.xE.sub.y, wherein E is selected from at least one of S, Se, and Te; and wherein x is no more than 0.1 and y is 0.005 to 0.3; a filtration device comprising the filtration medium; and methods of removing chloramines from aqueous solutions.

The present invention relates to a method of treating aqueous fluid and apparatus therefor. The method comprises adding an organic compound to a mass of aqueous fluid comprising at least one Kinetic Hydrate Inhibitor (KHI). The organic compound comprises a hydrophobic tail and a hydrophilic head. The hydrophobic tail comprises at least one C—H bond and the hydrophilic head comprises at least one of: a hydroxyl (—OH) group; and a carboxyl (—COOH) group.