Photo: Supplied/Christchurch City Council via RNZUniversity of Auckland researchers have discovered different microbes can be used to reduce the carbon footprint of treating wastewater. Carbon emissions from wastewater treatment were thought to make up a small, but preventable percentage of many countries' overall carbon footprints. Zhuang said his team had discovered two different kinds of microbes that existed in wastewater already and could be used to remove nitrate. "When wastewater flows through, we provide hydrogen or sulphur for these microbes to use, and then they will reduce nitrate to nitrogen gas." They could also be suitable methods for treating drinking water, he said.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 21, 2025 22:11 UTC