Rice University | News & Media

1/24/2008

Nanoparticle research wins Shell Sustainability Center backing

BY FRANZ BROTZEN

WILLIAM HOCKADAY

CARRIE MASIELLO

QILIN LI

Rice News Staff

Rice scientists are working to develop an easy, low-cost way to measure a form of minute pollution that could threaten drinking water and ecosystems.

From sunscreen to washing machines, consumer products contain manufactured nanoparticles that can enter the environment when those products are deposited in a landfill at the end of their useful life, through municipal and industrial wastewater discharge, and by accidental spillage.

"Controlled laboratory studies have shown that some carbon-based nanoparticles are both mobile in water and can be toxic to living organisms at relatively low levels," explained William Hockaday, one of the researchers involved in the project. "So we need to be able to monitor nanoparticle concentrations in soils, waste streams, rivers and our drinking water."

The Shell Center for Sustainability, is funding the research project, titled "Monitoring Engineered Nanoparticles in the Environment: Developing a New Approach." In addition to Hockaday, Qilin Li, assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Carrie Masiello, assistant professor of Earth Sciences, are overseeing the project.

The project's objective is to develop a method for measuring carbonaceous nanoparticles in environmental samples, a method that will help scientists better understand background levels and pollution sources. "The responsible implementation of any new technology includes an assessment of its environmental and human health impact," said Hockaday. "With nanotechnology, we simply lack the tools and methods to observe nanoscale particles in the environment."

"We are trying to develop tools that could make these measurements," he said. "The Shell Center grant provides us with a means to do exploratory research and test some promising new techniques."

The Shell Center for Sustainability is affiliated with Rice's School of Social Sciences. For more information, visit http://shellcenter.rice.edu or call 713-348-2796.