Water Technologies

Hosted byRichard Syrett

Water Technologies

About the show

Water is now the scarcest resource, but one American company is looking to change that with a process called "washing water." During hours two and three, Kevin Collier, president of Collier Group, joined Richard Syrett to describe how their controlled-gravity separation technology might change the way we use, recycle, distribute, and increase the world's clean water resources. Collier’s first job out of college was designing jet engines, which he says prepared him for developing high-speed centrifuges used to purify waste water. Collier says that his technology can also produce water for drinking and agriculture by separating out the harmful components by a combination of gravity, alternating magnetic fields, and reverse osmosis. He claims that the efficiency of the system is "extremely high." His company has produced a portable system that can clean fracking wastewater in the field so that it doesn’t have to be loaded into trucks and injected back into the ground, causing earthquakes and contamination of aquifers, as is the case presently. The system extracts the impurities in wastewater in an efficient way that makes the products easy to reuse or dispose of.

Collier's process also produces "pipeline grade" oil that is reclaimed in the cleaning process, he says, as well as concentrated salt water. One innovative use of salty wastewater relies on its tendency to stratify in such a way that the bottom layer is superheated when exposed to sunlight, which can be used to power generators and provide power for about 5000 homes from a five acre pond. Collier also related that he has developed a process of using magnetic fields to reduce the surface tension in water, which not only makes it easier to clean, but produces other effects such as use in agriculture as plants become "more hydrated so they grow faster" he asserted. Whatever method is used to provide clean water, Collier thinks that "these are things we must do in the future" to assure a clean and safe environment.

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In the first hour, writer Van Jensen and artist Pete Woods discussed their comic book series, Cryptocracy, which evolved out of their long fascination with conspiracy theories, and includes host Richard Syrett and George Noory as illustrated characters. Jensen said he came up with the story several years ago since he’s "always been interested in conspiracies." The comic book takes the point of view of a shadowy group of families who control the world’s destiny. They also mentioned that shows like Coast To Coast were influences on the story. Both believe that many conspiracies that are spoken about are due to a confluence of greedy and powerful individuals that only appear to be in cooperation, but acknowledge that there is certainly a "wide scale network of corruption." For those who want to work in the comics and graphic novel genre Jensen suggested that they "just make comics" because as Woods added, "eventually someone will notice."

Open Lines filled the last hour. Scott from Windsor, Ontario doubted that Collier's system would be energy-efficient enough to be worth putting into operation and pointed out that large companies such as Nestle have been buying up rights to municipal water supplies. Jeannie in Dallas thinks that the "oil companies today are like the tobacco companies were 50 years ago," and will not reveal any wrongdoing until it is too late. Cliff from Atlanta had a creepy story about seeing a moth on his porch when he went home to retrieve a movie on exorcism. He said it had an "upside down cross" on its back and that he couldn't figure out what kind of species had that marking. He promised to send in a photo he took of the strange insect.

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