PolyGone Announces Grand Opening of Microplastic Removal Pilot at ACUA
PolyGone Systems is pleased to announce the Grand Opening of the Microplastic Removal Pilot Project and the Educational Pavilion at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA)! The Grand Opening will take place on September 12, 2024, at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority Wastewater Treatment Facility.
The event will showcase PolyGone Systems’ industrial-scale microplastic removal pilot project within the Atlantic County Utilities Authority’s Wastewater Treatment Facility. Alongside the pilot deployment, PolyGone will unveil the Microplastic Educational Pavilion, an on-site exhibition for public visitors and students to learn about microplastic pollution and PolyGone’s environmental mission. Keynote speakers from the NOAA Sea Grant Office will be featured at the Grand Opening.
PolyGone Systems is a cleantech company spun out from Princeton University, specializing in developing novel microplastic filtration technology. This pioneering industrial-scale pilot project is funded by the NOAA Sea Grant Program Marine Debris Challenge Competition 2023 and the NJCSIT Pilot CleanTech Demonstration Grant Program. With the collaboration of project partners and ACUA, PolyGone will deploy its latest technology in the wastewater treatment plant to monitor and remove microplastic pollutants.
The hosting facility, ACUA, is a 40 million-gallon-per-day treatment plant and a regional collection facility serving approximately 225,000 residents in New Jersey. The Authority ensures a better quality of life by protecting the water and land from pollution, accepting wastewater from 14 municipalities in Atlantic County, as well as additional sludge/biosolids, grease, scum, dried municipal sludge, and leachate for treatment and disposal. ACUA is a leader in environmental initiatives and supports transformative and impactful technologies to provide the highest quality and most cost-effective environmental services. The Grand Opening represents a significant step toward protecting our marine ecosystems from harmful microplastic pollutants.
PolyGone and ACUA’s Partnership
ACUA has partnered with PolyGone Systems to implement our newest biomimetic filtration technologies, designed to capture hydrophobic microplastics in treated effluent before discharge into the ocean. The site for the pilot project is the facility’s equalization basin, where treated water is allowed to settle and enrich prior to discharge. PolyGone will deploy an array of filters to intercept microplastics along the channel that feeds into this equalization basin, serving as an additional round of filtration to remove any microplastics eluding the ACUA’s exiting treatment processes
This partnership project brings together environmental and waste management professionals, microplastic researchers, and community-based educators to pioneer a holistic and engaging approach to piloting innovative technologies within the water treatment sector.
PolyGone’s Long-standing Commitment to Education Programs
As an integral component of their pilot initiatives, our team at PolyGone is committed to fostering a deeper understanding of the emerging threat of microplastic pollution. To highlight this issue, they have designed a Microplastic Educational Pavilion, which will be installed next to their filtration pilot system at the ACUA. The pavilion will feature several interactive exhibits that explain the scale and causes of microplastic pollution, as well as the efforts of scientists and researchers in addressing it, specifically targeted at K-12 students. Additionally, PolyGone plans to organize microplastic field trips, seminars, and roundtable discussions throughout their pilot period to further engage communities in understanding this emerging contaminant.
PolyGone is excited about the potential impact of these partnerships. We believe that by working together with NOAA Sea Grant, NJCSIT, New York Sea Grant (PI), ACUA, and other collaborators, we can make significant progress in tackling the crucial issue of aquatic microplastic pollution.
PolyGone invites all stakeholders, including educators, policymakers, wastewater treatment professionals, government officials, students, and friends, to join us in celebrating the Grand Opening!
RSVP: https://www.acua.com/forms/Polygone-Microplastics-Grand-Opening-RSVP.aspx