Newton Prize goes to PHL research on fertilizer from wastewater

Published on by in Technology

Newton Prize goes to PHL research on fertilizer from wastewater

British Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce (sixth from left) congratulates the winner of the Newton Prize, the Philippine team led Prof. Michael Angelo Promentilla (fifth from left) for their research, “Water-Energy-Nutrient Nexus in the Cities of the Future.” With them are Department of Science and Technology officials led by Undersecretary Rowena Guevara, PCIEERD Deputy Director Raul Sabularse, Science Assistant Secretary Leah Buendia, PCIEERD Executive Director Enrico Paringit, DLSU Vice Chancelor for Research and Innovation Raymond Tan, and Newton Prize executives British Embassy Manila

A FILIPINO-initiated study that seeks to help in achieving food security and creating a positive impact on the environment won the coveted United Kingdom-initiated Newton Prize last week in Makati City.

Dubbed “Water-Energy-Nutrient Nexus in the Cities of the Future,” the winning research on how to convert wastewater into a nutrient-rich fertilizer was led by Prof. Michael Angelo Promentilla from De La Salle University and Dr. Devendra Saroj from University of Surrey.

“It’s actually about phosphorus recovery from these wastewaters, such as septage and sewage. So we’re trying to recover this phosphorus because if it’s not recovered properly it will just be dumped into the water bodies and it will cause eutrophication, algal blooms, and so on,” Promentilla told the BusinessMirror in an interview after he received the award.

According to Promentilla, the study aims to protect the environment, address food security and improve water quality.

“I’m happy for winning the award,” he said. “But, at the same time, I’m a bit worried and anxious because there are still things that we need to do to really achieve our goal.”

The researchers’ team, including Prof. Aileen Huelgas-Orbecido, Dr. Arnel Beltran, Engr. Carla Mae Pausta and Prof. Luis Razon, has just come up with a proposal to test the idea of recovering the phosphorus from a septage system.

They will try to process the wastewater from a septic tank and recover phosphorus to convert into fertilizer that will be used by a farm within an agricultural school they are now partnered with.

“We are looking to produce a solid granular fertilizer to help the farm grow crops,” Promentilla said of the project funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD); and its counterpart in the United Kingdom, the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Using the grant of up to about £200,000, or roughly P13 million, their prize money for winning the Newton Prize Philippines 2019 award, Promentilla is hopeful this will enable them to scale up the project and apply it to their farm beneficiary.

The team bested the entries of three other finalists: “Ensure: Enhanced surveillance for control and elimination of malaria in the Philippines,” led by Dr. Fe Espino from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and Prof. Chris Drakely from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; and “Low-cost Portable Molecular Diagnostic Platform for Rapid Detection of Poultry Infectious Pathogens” by Dr. Dennis Umali from the University of the Philippines (UP)-Los Baños and Prof. Wamadeva Balachandran from Brunel University London.

The other finalist was the research, “Using genomics to trace salmonella transmission and antimicrobial resistance in the poultry, and swine food chains in Metropolitan Manila,” by Prof. Windell Rivera from the Natural Sciences Research Institute of the UP-Manila and Prof. Taane Clark from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Meanwhile, Jopeth Ramis from the Technological Institute of the Philippines and Prof. Felicity Rose from the University of Nottingham, with their project, “Tissue engineering of bronchi in health and sickness: Assessing the effect of matrix stiffening on cellular changes in the airways,” were nominated for the Newton Chair’s Prize.

They are vying with other nominees from Indonesia and China to bag the award for the proposal that demonstrates knowledge, and working partnership with up to £500,000 as cash grant.

The winner will be announced in the Newton Prize London, on February 12.

The Philippines, together with its two Asian neighbors, was selected out of the 17 Newton nations for the Newton Prize 2019.

This was the first time for the Philippines to win the award.

British Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce lauded the enormous contribution made by each of the chosen Filipino researchers and scientists in their preferred areas to address global challenges in sectors, including health, food security and waste management.

SOURCE BUSINESS MIRROR

Media

Taxonomy