Archive News

May 24, 2018Payment via mobile, replacement parts made on a 3D-printer, error messages via NFC-tag – Eawag doctoral student Caroline Saul has found some remarkable innovations in companies that market container toilets in developing countries. She sees great potential in making such technologies more widely available.

May 16, 2018Ultrafiltration is one of the techniques currently used for disinfecting water – viruses and bacteria are reliably retained by a membrane with extremely small pores. For more than ten years, Eawag has successfully been carrying out research to determine how this method can function using the effect of gravity on water instead of high pressure, cleaning and chemicals. These new discoveries are being applied in increasing numbers of ways. In addition to decentralised drinking water purification, Eawag is now researching uses in areas such as greywater recycling and pre-treatment of seawater for desalination.

April 27, 2018This April, Sandec and its partners hosted two national workshops on small-scale sanitation – one in New Delhi, India and one in Kathmandu, Nepal. The aim of the workshops was to discuss the results of two years of field research with participants from government, utilities, academia, donors, the private sector and NGOs.

April 25, 2018Researchers of the Eawag department Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development (Sandec) and ETH Zurich are developing a method to produce animal feed from biowaste products. This is one of 14 projects in the Engineering for Development programme funded by the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development over the past decade and entering its next 5-year cycle.

April 10, 2018Faced with polluted river water, rural communities or aid agencies often drill groundwater wells to obtain water supplies. But data collected systematically for the first time in the Amazon basin show that this “solution” can create new problems: the groundwater may contain elevated concentrations of arsenic, manganese and aluminium – up to 70 times over the recommended limit in the case of arsenic, and up to 15 times for manganese.

February 22, 2018The earth’s water supply is changing because of global warming: the ratio of precipitation to evaporation is sinking, and additional arid zones may emerge. The speed at which this development is likely to take place has been analysed by an international team including Eawag researchers. 

January 24, 2018A research team from the Surface Waters Research and Management Department is investigating the earliest traces of human life in the tropical Pacific. In July 2017, the team undertook an expedition to Vanuatu in Melanesia. The researchers took sediment cores from the lakes and marshes on seven islands in order to test these for indications of the earliest human activities.

December 13, 2017The EPFL has launched a new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in collaboration with Eawag’s Sandec department and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The course is designed to shed light on the important role played by Public Health Engineers at times of humanitarian crisis, and how health risks can be mitigated.

November 23, 2017In collaboration with the Centre for Hydrogeology and Geothermal Energy at the University of Neuchâtel, Eawag recently organised a PEAK Course on the controversial topic of “Groundwater and Agriculture”. A major focal point of the information and discussions was the issue of nitrate pollution.

September 12, 2017Conversion of organic waste into valuable products is becoming more widespread, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The treatment of waste by larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF) has especially raised much attention in recent years.  Despite these advances, a significant need existed for guidelines on how to set up and operate a commercially viable treatment facility. The Black Soldier Fly Biowaste Processing: A Step-by-Step Guide published in July 2017 summarises the results of ten years of research and development in this field at Eawag and imparts valuable know-how through practical advice and instructions.