Abteilung Verfahrenstechnik

Verfahrenstechnik

Unsere Forschungsgruppen beschäftigen sich aus der ingenieurtechnischen Perspektive mit Problemen der Abwasserreinigung und Trinkwasseraufbereitung sowie dem Schutz der Wasserressourcen. Unser langfristiges Ziel ist es, nachhaltige Konzepte für Wasser- und Nährstoffkreisläufe in Siedlungen zu entwickeln.

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News

Schweizer Ansatz für moderne Abwasserbehandlung ausgezeichnet

Durch diese Diffusoren wird Ozon in das gereinigte Abwasser eingeblasen (ARA Neugut, Dübendorf; Foto: Max Schachtler).
1. Dezember 2023 –

Ein Team aus sieben aktuellen und ehemaligen Eawag Forschenden erhält 2024 den Sandmeyer Preis der Chemischen Gesellschaft für die Entwicklung einer erweiterten Abwasserbehandlung zum Abbau von Mikroverunreinigungen mit Ozon. Das...

Ein Team aus sieben aktuellen und ehemaligen Eawag Forschenden erhält 2024 den Sandmeyer Preis der Chemischen Gesellschaft für die Entwicklung einer erweiterten Abwasserbehandlung zum Abbau von Mikroverunreinigungen mit Ozon. Das Besondere daran: Zwischen der Erforschung der Grundlagen bis zur grosstechnischen Umsetzung vergingen bloss rund 15 Jahre – das war nur möglich, weil an der Eawag schon viel Wissen vorhanden war und interdisziplinäres Zusammenarbeiten am Schweizer Wasserforschungsinstitut Programm ist.
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Vier weitere Jahre für erfolgreiche Plattformen

Definition und Umsetzung von politischen Massnahmen, um den Zustand der Gewässer zu verbessern, sind anspruchsvolle Aufgaben. Die beiden Plattformen helfen dabei, Wissenslücken zu schliessen (Foto: Karin Stäheli, Eawag).
19. Oktober 2023 –

Das Mandat der von Eawag, BAFU und VSA getragenen Plattformen «Wasserqualität» und «Verfahrenstechnik Mikroverunreinigungen» wurde um vier Jahre verlängert.

Das Mandat der von Eawag, BAFU und VSA getragenen Plattformen «Wasserqualität» und «Verfahrenstechnik Mikroverunreinigungen» wurde um vier Jahre verlängert.
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Frühwarnsystem für Kläranlagen

Dank DNA-Analyse konnte in der Kläranlage Langmatt das Bakterium identifiziert werden, das für eine übermässige Schaumbildung verantwortlich war (Foto: Robert Niederdorfer/Eawag).
7. September 2023 –

Zeitnahe Analysen der Bakteriengemeinschaft in Kläranlagen ermöglichen es, Veränderungen zu erkennen und zu beheben, bevor die Reinigungsleistung leidet.

Zeitnahe Analysen der Bakteriengemeinschaft in Kläranlagen ermöglichen es, Veränderungen zu erkennen und zu beheben, bevor die Reinigungsleistung leidet.
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Water Hub: Neuer Film aus dem NEST

Publikationen

la Cecilia, D., Philipp, M., Kaegi, R., Schirmer, M., & Moeck, C. (2024). Microplastics attenuation from surface water to drinking water: impact of treatment and managed aquifer recharge – and identification uncertainties. Science of the Total Environment, 908, 168378 (12 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168378, Institutional Repository

River water can be used to recharge aquifers exploited for drinking water production. Several recent studies reported microplastics (MPs) in river water, and therefore, the potential contamination of groundwater by MPs is a growing concern among stakeholders and citizens. In this research, we investigate the fate of MPs (> 20 μm) along six different stages of a major Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR)-water supply system in Switzerland. About 20 l of water were filtered using steel meshes at each location in triplicates. In the laboratory, MPs deposited on the anodisc filters were identified using Focal Plane Array (FPA) micro-Fourier-Transform-InfraRed (μFTIR) spectroscopy. The obtained hyperspectral data were processed using the imaging software Microplastics Finder for MPs identification and classification. Our results revealed a 20-fold decrease in MPs concentration from the Rhine River bed water (112 ± 27.4 MPs/l) to after the coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation (5.5 ± 2.2 MPs/l), a further 3-fold decrease to after the sand-filtration system (1.8 ± 0.9 MPs/l), corresponding to an overall removal efficiency of 98.4 %. The MPs concentrations remained low following MAR (2.7 ± 0.7 MPs/l) through a Quaternary gravel aquifer. Activated carbon filters did not substantially further reduce MPs concentrations. The percentage of fragments (≈95 %) prevailed over fibers (≈5 %) at all locations, with fibers being longer and more abundant in the river water. Overall, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of the treatment systems to remove MPs larger than 20 μm. Finally, we calculated an uncertainty in MPs concentrations of one order of magnitude depending on the user-defined parameters inside the MPs identification and classification model. The Quality Assurance/Quality Control approach followed during laboratory analysis highlighted an accumulation of surrogate particles at the edges of the disc, which would have an impact for MPs number upscaling.
Ballikaya, P., Brunner, I., Cocozza, C., Grolimund, D., Kaegi, R., Murazzi, M. E., … Cherubini, P. (2023). First evidence of nanoparticle uptake through leaves and roots in beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Tree Physiology, 43(2), 262-276. doi:10.1093/treephys/tpac117, Institutional Repository

Trees have been used for phytoremediation and as biomonitors of air pollution. However, the mechanisms by which trees mitigate nanoparticle pollution in the environment are still unclear. We investigated whether two important tree species, European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), are able to take up and transport differently charged gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) into their stem by comparing leaf-to-root and root-to-leaf pathways. Au-NPs were taken up by roots and leaves, and a small fraction was transported to the stem in both species. Au-NPs were transported from leaves to roots but not vice versa. Leaf Au uptake was higher in beech than in pine, probably because of the higher stomatal density and wood characteristics of beech. Confocal (3D) analysis confirmed the presence of Au-NPs in trichomes and leaf blade, about 20–30 μm below the leaf surface in beech. Most Au-NPs likely penetrated into the stomatal openings through diffusion of Au-NPs as suggested by the 3D XRF scanning analysis. However, trichomes were probably involved in the uptake and internal immobilization of NPs, besides their ability to retain them on the leaf surface. The surface charge of Au-NPs may have played a role in their adhesion and uptake, but not in their transport to different tree compartments. Stomatal conductance did not influence the uptake of Au-NPs. This is the first study that shows nanoparticle uptake and transport in beech and pine, contributing to a better understanding of the interactions of NPs with different tree species.
Ballikaya, P., Brunner, I., Cocozza, C., Grolimund, D., Kaegi, R., Murazzi, M. E., … Cherubini, P. (2023). Nanoparticles are everywhere, even inside trees. Chimia, 77(4), 256. doi:10.2533/chimia.2023.256, Institutional Repository
Bou-Sarkis, A., Paul, E., Girbal-Neuhauser, E., Derlon, N., & Bessiere, Y. (2023). Detection of gel-forming polymers via calcium crosslinking, applied to the screening of extracellular polymeric substances extracted from biological aggregates. Gels, 9(2), 157 (14 pp.). doi:10.3390/gels9020157, Institutional Repository

The valorization of biological aggregates through the extraction of hydrogel-forming polymers can enhance the economics and sustainability of various processes in which bacteria are involved in organic waste transformation, such as wastewater treatment. Achieving these goals requires the development of a method capable of detecting the presence of gel-forming polymers in complex mixtures containing biopolymers that are most often unknown and uncharacterized. A miniaturized screening method capable of detecting gelation via ionic crosslinking using only 1 to 3 mg of the tested samples (commercial molecules or extracellular polymeric substances, EPSs) is proposed. The method consists of calculating a percentage of reactivity (%R) through UV-vis spectra and determining the percentage of gel volume (%Vg) formed after the addition of calcium. Both factors were combined to give a gelling factor (GF), and the test was applied to pure commercial molecules (BSA, DNA, alginate (ALV), and a mixture of them), allowing the classification of the following solutions according to their gel-forming capacity: GF(ALV) > GF(ALV+DNA) > GF(BSA+ALV+DNA) > GF(BSA+ALV) > GF(DNA) > GF(BSA+DNA) > GF(BSA). As a relevant tool for screening hydrogel-forming solutions, the method was applied to the EPS extracted from aerobic granular sludge. The EPS (0.5% w/v) had a GF of 0.16 ± 0.03, equivalent to approximately half of the GF of ALV (0.38 ± 0.02 at 0.5% w/v). The developed test pushes the limits of the existing gel-detection techniques because it allows for quicker, less consuming, and more informative gelation detection through the use of simple methods that do not require sophisticated equipment.

Forschungsprojekte

Indem wir Nährstoffe aus Urin zurückgewinnen, entwickeln wir ein Sanitärsystem, welches wertvollen Dünger produziert

VUNA - Nährstoffrückgewinnung in Südafrika
In Autarky entwickeln wir kleine Anlagen für die getrennte Behandlung von Urin, Abwasser und Fäkalien direkt in der Toilette.

Blue Diversion AUTARKY – Abwasserbehandlung ohne Netzanschluss
GDM ist eine einfache, wartungsfreie Technologie für die Trinkwasserversorgung ohne Elektrizität und Chemie.

GDM Gravity-Driven Membrane technologie
Der durch den Menschen verursachte Stickstoffeintrag in den küstennahen Gewässern der Meere wird in Form einer Eutrophierung zunehmend zu einem Problem für unsere Gewässer.

Nitrations- / Anammoxprozess

Micro-sieving of municipal wastewater

Aerobic Granular Sludge
Mathematische Modellierung aerober granulierter Belebtschlamm (AGS) - Reaktoren

Eawag Aerobic Granular Sludge (AGS) Model

Weitere Forschungsprojekte