Living Walls: University researchers develop green tech for treating wastewater from microbreweries
Rochester Institute of Technology and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) researchers received a patent for green wall technology that will provide craft breweries cost-effective and sustainable options for wastewater treatment. The team found a way to make the common Pothos and recycled glass an environmental solution to support the growing microbrewery trend in the region.
Receiving a U.S. patent this spring for a “Novel green technology for treating waste water from microbreweries,” the team developed a system that incorporates plants, microbes, media in a support structure to create a ‘green wall’—essentially a lush wall garden. The green wall is effective in treating brewery wastewater and the system is low cost and easy to operate. This new option could relieve an overburdened treatment system and the environment, said Scott Wolcott, one of the researchers.