Home  /  2015, State  /  SA  /  Red to yellow, and toxic mercury is gone

Red to yellow, and toxic mercury is gone

Mercury that hangs around after mining and coal production spells bad news for the environment and can retard brain development in children. 

Fresh Scientist Justin Chalker

Fresh Scientist Justin Chalker (right)

Now a team of chemists lead by Justin Chalker at Flinders University has developed a new material to permanently remove mercury from soil and water. It’s called Sulfur-Limonene Polysulfide, or SLP for short.

“SLP is a polymer that looks like red rubber, and is made quite cheaply from industrial by-products,” says Justin. “We can make it into any shape we want.”

By lining storage containers with SLP, Justin and his colleagues have successfully removed mercury from river and pond water, and soil. The product is self-indicating: the red polymer turns yellow when it binds mercury.

“This means we know when the SLP is saturated, and needs to be changed,” Justin explains.

After contact with SLP, mercury remains permanently bound and can be stored safely without further environmental risk.

Justin has published his results, and filed an international patent application for SLP and its use in removing toxic mercury from the environment. He is currently in discussion with industry partners to develop the material further.

Justin presented his research at Fresh Science South Australia 2015.

Fresh Science is a national program that helps early-career researchers find and share their stories of discovery. Over 30 early-career researchers nominated for Fresh Science SA, which was held at the South Australian Museum (training) and The Lion Hotel (public challenge event).

Fresh Science South Australia was supported by the The University of South Australia, The University of Adelaide, Flinders University and the South Australian Museum.

The research will be published in an open-access article in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition (DOI: 10.1002/anie.201508708), where it was selected as a Hot Paper by the Editors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition is one of the highest profile journals in chemistry research.

Contact: Justin Chalker, Flinders University, justin.chalker@flinders.edu.au

Click here for full media briefing.

In the news: The Advertiser, ABC – The World Today, Business Insider, The Conversation, ScienceAlert, The Lead South Australia, IFL Science, The New Daily, Mining.com, I4U News, The Blaze, Mic, Discovery/Discovery News, Independent UK, Gizmodo, SlashGear, Mornings on 774 ABC (from 1:08:35), ResearchCareer, Down to Earth, DailyKos, Sustainability Matters, Over Sixty, eTeknix, EM News, The LAD Bible, Asian Center – Environmental Health, Eatglobe, Science World Report, Just Science News, InfoWars, External Diffusion, BostonCommons, Tech Times, Good News Network, Pioneer News, The Spirit Science, GOOD, Natural World News, redOrbit, Dispatch Tribunal, Terra Daily, Aquavist, World Report Now, United Press 1233 ABC Newcastle, and more!

New material absorbing mercury from water and turning yellow (time lapsed). Credit: Max Worthington, Flinders University

Limonene: By-product of Citrus Industry

Limonene: By-product of Citrus Industry

Processing Sulfur-Limonene Polysulfide in the lab

Processing Sulfur-Limonene Polysulfide in the lab

Processing Sulfur-Limonene Polysulfide in the lab

Processing Sulfur-Limonene Polysulfide in the lab

A block made of the polymer demonstrates how it can be made into various shapes for storage or other uses

A block made of the polymer demonstrates how it can be made into various shapes for storage or other uses

Picture1

70,000 tons of limonene are produced every year as a waste product of the citrus industry

Tagged with:    

Related Articles

Fresh Science

 

Fresh Science is on hold for 2022. We will be back in 2023.

Let us know if you want to receive updates about the program.

Fresh Science is a national competition and training program helping early-career researchers find and share their stories of discovery.

We take young researchers with no media experience and help them become media spokespeople for their science, and reach stakeholders in government and industry.

Fresh Science gives finalists a taste of life in the limelight, with a day of media training, a day of training in stakeholder engagement, and a public event in their home state.

Alumni of the program include Professor Allan Duffy and Dr Niraj Lal.

Read some of the fresh science we discovered in 2021 here.

On Twitter #FreshSci

Feedback and Testimonials

Comments from Fresh Scientists:

I never had so much confidence to go out in public and talk about my research and would have never done if I had not been part of this workshop. They were also very patient and explained the concepts so clearly. They have definitely been great initiators to take science to the society and have changed my view on science journalism for good. Thanks a lot for all the efforts and training.

Shwathy Ramesan, RMIT, 2019 VIC Fresh Scientist

Fresh Science
2020-11-24T13:35:16+11:00

Shwathy Ramesan, RMIT, 2019 VIC Fresh Scientist

I never had so much confidence to go out in public and talk about my research and would have never done if I had not been part of this workshop. They were also very patient and explained the concepts so clearly. They have definitely been great initiators to take science to the society and have changed my view on science journalism for good. Thanks a lot for all the efforts and training.
Took part in their media training course as part of Fresh Science. Great opportunity, learnt a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the course.

Laurence Luu, UNSW, 2019 NSW Fresh Science

Fresh Science
2020-11-24T13:52:58+11:00

Laurence Luu, UNSW, 2019 NSW Fresh Science

Took part in their media training course as part of Fresh Science. Great opportunity, learnt a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the course.
I had the incredible chance to participate at the FreshScience workshop in Perth this year and I could not be happier with the organisation and the material provided. Very useful and great tips for science communication. Definitely, this will help me in my future career. Thanks a lot for the opportunity!

Alba Claramunt, UoWA, 2019 WA Fresh Scientist

Fresh Science
2020-11-24T14:09:32+11:00

Alba Claramunt, UoWA, 2019 WA Fresh Scientist

I had the incredible chance to participate at the FreshScience workshop in Perth this year and I could not be happier with the organisation and the material provided. Very useful and great tips for science communication. Definitely, this will help me in my future career. Thanks a lot for the opportunity!
I participated in the Fresh Science media training program in 2017 and was the winner in Victoria. I am sincerely thankful to the team - Lydia, Sarah, Toni and Niall - for giving such excellent guidance on how to deal with the media coverage and how to present my work to the general audience. The exposure that we got in the training - meeting with several journalists from different media channels, rehearsing media interviews and pitching for funding - was excellent boost for me to think beyond my PhD.

Deepti Aggarwal, RMIT, VIC 2017 Fresh Scientist (winner)

Fresh Science
2020-11-24T14:15:24+11:00

Deepti Aggarwal, RMIT, VIC 2017 Fresh Scientist (winner)

I participated in the Fresh Science media training program in 2017 and was the winner in Victoria. I am sincerely thankful to the team - Lydia, Sarah, Toni and Niall - for giving such excellent guidance on how to deal with the media coverage and how to present my work to the general audience. The exposure that we got in the training - meeting with several journalists from different media channels, rehearsing media interviews and pitching for funding - was excellent boost for me to think beyond my PhD.
Presenters are very knowledgeable and approachable.

Dayna Cenin, UWA, 2019 WA Fresh Scientist

Fresh Science
2020-11-24T14:18:43+11:00

Dayna Cenin, UWA, 2019 WA Fresh Scientist

Presenters are very knowledgeable and approachable.
I loved getting to talk to journalists and being able to pitch to them.

Anonymous, 2019 Fresh Scientist

Fresh Science
2020-11-24T14:21:42+11:00

Anonymous, 2019 Fresh Scientist

I loved getting to talk to journalists and being able to pitch to them.
The fresh science training was a hands on program. I truly enjoyed the training with actual journalists and stake holders.

I had been struggling for a while with how to explain my research to the general public and the fresh science training really helped me to come up with different angles for different audiences.

I truly enjoyed the pub test because I had the opportunity to talk about the importance of geology  to the general public.

Sara Polanco, University of Sydney, NSW 2019 Fresh Scientist

Fresh Science
2021-07-02T18:54:22+11:00

Sara Polanco, University of Sydney, NSW 2019 Fresh Scientist

The fresh science training was a hands on program. I truly enjoyed the training with actual journalists and stake holders. I had been struggling for a while with how to explain my research to the general public and the fresh science training really helped me to come up with different angles for different audiences. I truly enjoyed the pub test because I had the opportunity to talk about the importance of geology  to the general public.
0
0
Fresh Science