KOERANT-BERIGTE UIT SINGAPOER OOR DR. JL BARNARD:


Business Times 18th March 2011 - By LINETTE LIM

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ONCE called a 'snake-oil' salesman, scientist James Barnard is now being lauded for developing a revolutionary way for treating wastewater.

And for that he has pipped 71 other nominees to win the fourth Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize. Dr Barnard - nicknamed the father of biological nutrient removal (BNR) - was recognised for developing an environmentally friendly and cost-effective method to treat wastewater. Instead of expensive chemicals, BNR technology uses naturally occurring micro-organisms to remove nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater, thereby allowing wastewater to be returned safely to rivers and lakes.

The US-based Dr Barnard said if applied to a plant like the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant in Washington DC, BNR technology is estimated to save more than US$11.5 million a year in chemical costs.

Besides being costly, the use of chemicals to remove nitrogen and phosphorus will lead to excessive algae growth and affect the ecology and water quality in water bodies. "This (award) is particularly meaningful coming from Singapore which has taken the reclamation of wastewater for potable use to new heights," said Dr Barnard.

Dr Barnard started exploring BNR technology when faced with water quality challenges in his native South Africa in the 1970s.

Revealing that he has been called a 'snake oil salesman' by cynics in his 46-year career, he said he was happy to be recognised for his work.

"There are now thousands of BNR plants across the world," he added.
"Bridging the gap between research and industrial application, his technology now forms the basis of all BNR processes in use today in both developed and developing countries,' said Tan Gee Paw, chairman of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize nominating committee.

Speaking at a media briefing, PUB chief executive Khoo Teng Chye acknowledged that Singapore "uses a variant of Dr Barnard's BNR technology".
During this year's Singapore International Water Week from July 4 to 8, Dr Barnard will deliver the Singapore Water Lecture to some 1,500 delegates comprising government, business and academic leaders.

He will also receive the award from Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew at a presentation ceremony on July 5.  The award - which consists of a cash prize of $300,000, a certificate and a gold medallion - is sponsored by the Singapore Millennium Foundation, a philanthropic body supported by Temasek Holdings.

Dr Barnard said he will donate a portion of his prize money to educational causes in South Africa and Engineers Without Borders



Straits Times Mar 18, 2011 - LEE KUAN YEW WATER PRIZE - By Feng Zengkun

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---ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA

S. African's green solution takes the gold Technology, which uses bacteria to clean water, now adopted worldwide

Dr Barnard has no plans to rest on his laurels - he is already working on refinements that will further improve his water treatment technology. Currently, plants that use his method can reduce costs by up to 90 per cent compared with those that rely on chemicals.

IT IS cheaper, greener and more sustainable than other water treatment methods - which is why Dr James Barnard's invention won the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize yesterday.  Called biological nutrient removal, it uses harmless bacteria instead of chemicals to treat water.  Since it was invented in the 1970s, thousands of treatment plants across the United States, Europe and Australia have switched over to this technology, which also reduces costs by up to 90 per cent.

Even Singapore uses a variation of it, said Mr Khoo Teng Chye, chief executive of the Public Utilities Board.

A record 72 entries from 29 countries were received for the competition this year, including first-time submissions from Austria, Egypt and Tunisia.

Now in its fourth year, the award, which comes with a prize worth $300,000, was named after Singapore's first prime minister, who is now Minister Mentor. His policies have been credited with giving the country its sustainable water supply.

The prize will be officially presented to Dr Barnard here in July as the highlight of this year's International Water Week.

Asked how he intended to spend the prize money, he said a portion would go towards improving education in his native South Africa, particularly in the field of environmental engineering.

"We need to look out for the next generation," said the 75-year-old with a smile. He was once a civil engineering undergraduate himself.  He recalled seeing rivers in his homeland turn green from algae in the 1970s.

"We couldn't use chemicals to treat the water, which was the normal way at the time," he said. "The chemicals would have killed the river life in South Africa."

Even so, finding the solution was easier than marketing it, he said.  "At the first meeting I went to, a man called me a snake oil salesman because he couldn't believe it would work."

Today, his invention has reached out as far as Asia, with China, Japan and South Korea being the latest to adopt it.  The next step, he said, will be to refine the technology to make it more efficient.  "I'm honoured by the prize, of course," he said. "But work goes on."  zengkun@sph.com.sg






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