Innovations

The North-West University has developed a method in which municipal wastewater is treated to remove ammonia and phosphate while simultaneously recovering struvite as a byproduct. Struvite is used to reduce the acidity of acidity of the acid mine drainage water which leads to precipitate metal

Chalcopyrite is a common but low-grade copper ore, and NWU researchers have developed an innovative method to improve copper dissolution and extraction from this mineral. This is achieved by harnessing galvanic interactions between chalcopyrite and magnetite, they achieved more efficient copper

This process is used for generating hydrogen by providing a hydrogen chemical carrier in the presence of an active catalyst in a reactor vessel and elevating the temperature inside the reactor by electromagnetic process to allow a dehydrogenation reaction to generate hydrogen. The active catalyst is

The North-West University (NWU) has developed and patented a method for producing hydrogen via hydrolysis, using an activated aluminium compound. Technology Benefits: Aluminum also can be recycled after the hydrogen production process. Hydrogen can be produced under high pressure. By-products are

This technology utilises a microchannel reactor for the decomposition of ammonia, comprising two chambers: one for exothermic combustion of ammonia to generate heat. A second chamber of the reactor with a second catalyst receives a second stream of ammonia to provide endothermic decomposition of the

A mobile application to facilitate the efficient delivery of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) which are dependent on a multi-embedded supply chain coordination for the distribution of malaria drugs. The distribution of these is hampered by a lack of coordination among stakeholders

The invention relates to the use of maghemite nanoparticles at pH less than 5 to remove sulphate, manganese, copper, nickel, cobalt and zinc metal ions from acid mine drainage (AMD). In conventional AMD treatment, these pollutants are only removed at higher pH, and that requires costly alkaline

The technology relates to a sol-gel based, uniform carbon-coating method for producing high-performance lithium-ion batteries. This method makes use of organic phosphoric acid as carbon and phosphoric sources to produce uniformly carbon-coated lithium-ion batteries that overcome the challenges of

The invention relates to a novel process of partial oxidation of un-agglomerated chromite ore in ferrochrome production processes. The process includes the steps: Providing a source of un-agglomerated chromite ore; subjecting the source of un-agglomerated chromite ore to pre-oxidation at a

The North-West University (NWU) has pioneered the novel use of Europium-Tellurium-Oxide (ETO) in the production of clean energy. ETO is a light-chargeable catalyst material that exhibits sustained and enhanced activity after light excitation has ended. Its unique characteristics present an

Surfactants are amphipathic molecules with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties that partition preferentially at the interface between fluid phases such as oil/water or air/water interfaces. Such characteristics confer excellent detergency, emulsifying, foaming, and dispersing traits, which

The collection and preservation of biological material for further DNA and RNA analysis are critical to many biomedical fields, from medical diagnostics to forensics and biodiversity conservation. The Forensic DNA lab at the University of the Western Cape has developed a novel, proprietary DNA