All brewers understand that potential water shortages pose a threat to their business. It takes a lot of water to make beer – in some cases as much as four barrels of water for one barrel of beer. As a result, brewers are actively seeking ways to conserve water and use it more efficiently at every stage of production.

As a young man, Mike Doran decided his life’s work was to find a cure for cancer. And so he began his university studies in biochemistry, destined for a career in cancer research. An avid outdoorsman with a love for fishing, he was fascinated by how vitally important clean water was to fish and marine life, not to mention human health.

Across North America, many municipalities and communities are planning for necessary upgrades to their existing water and wastewater treatment infrastructure. Evidence of this need was clearly apparent last month when the U.S. Senate voted 89-2 in favour of the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021. This legislation will help communities address pressing water infrastructure challenges by providing significant boosts in funding for wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water. Similar increased funding is included in Canada’s recent federal budget.

This May marks the 8 year anniversary of a feature article on Aclarus Ozone by the Peterborough Examiner titled “Ozone: The ‘axe murderer’ of bacteria”

The story garnered a lot of attention and we were most appreciative for the exposure. Eight years later I am reflecting back on the content of this article with regards to what remains the same and what has changed.

While you may not have heard much about ozone disinfection until recently, it is not a new technology. Despite its increasing use for an increasing number of applications, there are still a number of myths about ozone that need to be dispelled.

Microplastics are considered a major environmental threat so much so that scientists are defining this new historical epoch as “The Plasticene”. Although only 5.0 mm or less in size, these particles contain toxic and dangerous chemical substances that are inherent in all plastic products. Extensive global research is currently under way to determine the full effect of microplastics on human health and the environment.

In 2020, $600 million was spent worldwide on advanced ozone water treatment technology – a significant market, but small in comparison to the $26 billion that was spent on chemicals to treat water.