USDA Awards Professor $750K Grant for Wastewater Research
Yang Deng will lead four-year study on developing sustainable water reuse systems through USDA funding
Posted in: Department Research
The work to improve the systems keeping our water safe is ever-evolving and increasingly challenging, but one environmental engineer at Montclair State University is tackling it head-on.
Earth and Environmental Studies Professor Yang Deng has been awarded a $750,000 grant toward a four-year research study that will work to develop innovative wastewater reuse technologies for agricultural irrigation.
The goal of the research is to develop design principles for a novel iron-based water reuse process to transform municipal wastewater into quality irrigation water. The aim is to strongly support the resilience and sustainability of U.S. agriculture, while mitigating climate change and adapting to its impacts, Deng says.
The technology will enable local water recycling in a more cost and energy efficient manner and thus reduce the reliance on long-distance water and wastewater transport, which is the current dominant water management scheme.
The grant, awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture as part of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), was one of 14 awards totaling nearly $9 million.
Considered the nation’s leading competitive grants program for agricultural sciences, the AFRI program seeks to “improve water science, management and technologies, water conservation and water use efficiency.”
Read the full article on the Press Room website.