A University of Waterloo research team is collaborating with Ontario-based science and innovation company deutraMed to analyze, evaluate and purify deuterium oxide (D2O) wastewaters for refining and reuse.
Sometimes called “heavy water”, D2O is a stable, non-radioactive isotopic variant of water, where the hydrogen atoms are replaced with their heavier isotope deuterium. Historically known for being a key component of the CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) nuclear reactors for generating electricity, numerous important non-nuclear applications have also emerged.
“While bulk D2O is a critical resource for generating electricity in nuclear reactors, its modern applications in pharmaceutical science and in the development of advanced organic materials such as OLEDs have created a rapidly growing demand for this resource,” said Dr. Graham Murphy from UWaterloo’s Department of Chemistry.
According to UWaterloo’s Faculty of Science, refining scarce deuterium from natural sources is expensive, and the goal of the partnership with deutraMed is to develop environmentally sustainable processes for purifying industrial wastewaters, allowing the residual deuterium content to be recycled, refined and ultimately returned to the global economy. By decontaminating industrial waste, deutraMed can start its refining process using more concentrated deuterated material, which offers a significant advantage.
“Recycling wastewaters will restore this rare and expensive material to ensure these industries have access to the heavy water they rely on,” explains fifth-year UWaterloo chemistry student Allysa Greidanus, who works in the school’s Murphy Lab.
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She adds that she’s currently running small-scale distillations and ozonolysis experiments using wastewater samples from industrial sources. After running purity control tests, Greidanus sends the treated samples to deutraMed for analysis to determine the effectiveness of her methods.
The testing partnership is facilitated by Dr. Pavel Gris, chief scientist at deutraMed.
“Working with the University of Waterloo is always an efficient and collaborative process, ensuring a fast and seamless transition of innovation from the university lab to the industrial setting,” Gris says.
