Département Technologie des procédés

Technologie des procédés

Nos groupes de recherche se consacrent, sous l'angle de l'ingénierie technique, aux problèmes de l'épuration des eaux usées et du traitement de l'eau destinée à la consommation, ainsi qu'à la protection des ressources en eau. Notre objectif est de développer des concepts durables pour les cycles hydrologiques et des nutriments dans les communautés urbaines.

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News

Boîte à outils pour la planification de systèmes sanitaires décentralisés

La boîte à outils contient trois groupes de fiches d'information qui aident à planifier des solutions d'assainissement décentralisé - de la définition des objectifs au choix de la stratégie, en passant par un aperçu des technologies possibles. (Photo : Eawag, Peter Penicka)
18 novembre 2025 –

Une boîte à outils de l'Eawag donne un aperçu des technologies pour les systèmes sanitaires décentralisés, de leurs avantages respectifs et des exemples construits.

Une boîte à outils de l'Eawag donne un aperçu des technologies pour les systèmes sanitaires décentralisés, de leurs avantages respectifs et des exemples construits.
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Les 10 ans du sensor lab de l'Eawag

Une série de capteurs de température avec transmission radio est prête à être entièrement révisée, car les conditions d'utilisation en montagne ou dans les égouts peuvent être difficiles. (Andri Bryner, Eawag)
11 novembre 2025 –

Le Sensorlab fait la fête. Grâce à lui, la recherche sur l'eau reste à la pointe de la technologie, avec de nouvelles solutions de mesure et d'automatisation, de transmission et de gestion des données.

Le Sensorlab fait la fête. Grâce à lui, la recherche sur l'eau reste à la pointe de la technologie, avec de nouvelles solutions de mesure et d'automatisation, de transmission et de gestion des données.
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Système de détection précoce pour les stations d’épuration

Les eaux usées épurées peuvent être surveillées en continu grâce à un monitoring en ligne avec des organismes. Les données ainsi obtenues permettent de réagir rapidement à des pollutions aiguës. (Photo : Centre Ecotox)
17 juin 2025 –

Un système de détection précoce combinant biosurveillance en ligne et analyses chimiques en continu a été testé dans une station d’épuration communale par des chercheuses et chercheurs du Centre Ecotox, de l'Eawag et de la Haute...

Un système de détection précoce combinant biosurveillance en ligne et analyses chimiques en continu a été testé dans une station d’épuration communale par des chercheuses et chercheurs du Centre Ecotox, de l'Eawag et de la Haute école spécialisée du nord-ouest de la Suisse. Le système est capable de détecter les pics de pollution dus à la présence de micropolluants dans les eaux traitées et d’identifier les substances toxiques en temps réel. Il peut ainsi aider à améliorer la gestion des eaux usées.
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Water Hub: Noveau film (en Anglais)

Publications

Hamilton, K. A., Quon, H., Ashbolt, N. J., Gurian, P. L., Reynaert, E., Haas, C. N., … Wilson, A. M. (2026). Making waves: Moving beyond the 1 in 10,000 benchmark in quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) through evidence-informed risk approaches and systems decision-making. Water Research, 289, 124903 (8 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.watres.2025.124903, Institutional Repository

Public health decision-making for the management of infectious diseases quantifies human risks, typically segmented by vulnerability groupings to evaluate risk management interventions. While many paradigms are available for evaluating risks and their tradeoffs, relatively few are used in practice. Many sectors such as water reuse rely on benchmark approaches for risk, such as 1 in 10,000 infections per person per year. As risk-risk tradeoffs are increasingly considered in quantitative microbial risk assessments (QMRA), there is a need to broaden acceptability criteria beyond such approaches to consider holistic aspects of decision-making such as broader sustainability and cost impacts, and fairness. Evidence-based benchmarks can be incorporated into a systems approach to risk management by providing a more integrated alternative to strict policy-recommended one-size-fits-all targets. Potential research gaps for both existing and forward-looking metrics of acceptable microbial risk and alternative approaches are identified, with water reuse as a focus area.
Pan, R., Zheng, Z. X., He, H., Zhang, T. Y., Zeng, C., Fu, Q., … Xu, B. (2026). Selective elimination of aniline contaminants induced by semiquinone radicals during peracetic acid oxidation of dihydroxybenzenes. Water Research, 289, 124840 (11 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.watres.2025.124840, Institutional Repository

This study investigated the reaction mechanisms of peracetic acid (PAA) with dihydroxybenzenes (HBs) to generate reactive species for degradation of micropollutants containing aniline(-like) structures, including 7 sulfonamide antibiotics, 17 (non-)substituted anilines, and 3 nucleobases. Three of the studied HBs significantly enhanced aniline degradation kinetics by PAA, with degrees following the order of catechol (CA) > protocatechuic acid > hydroquinone. The PAA/CA process at the optimal condition (initial pH 7, 100-μM PAA, 50-μM CA) achieved 90% removal efficiency of sulfadiazine in 40 min with minimal interference by anions (Cl−, SO42−, and HCO3−), humic acid, and real (waste)waters. Results of scavenging experiments, electron paramagnetic resonance analyses, and transformation product profiles collectively support that semiquinone radical (SQ•−), originated from oxidation of CA by PAA, dominated aniline degradation through nucleophilic addition toward the amino groups on aniline moieties, resulting in formation of C−N coupling products and detoxication of anilines. The critical role of o-SQ•− is further highlighted by the linear correlation between ln-scale observed pseudo-first-order rate constant (kobs) with the Hammett constant (σ) for sulfonamides and (non-)substituted anilines (r = -0.77). Besides, a non-radical pathway driven by singlet oxygen (1O2) made important while non-dominant contribution to aniline degradation. Overall, this work sheds light on reactive species formation during oxidation of phenolic compounds by PAA and proposes a novel strategy for selective elimination of aniline-containing contaminants in wastewater treatment.
Parniske, J., Froemelt, A., & Morck, T. (2026). Modelling competitive adsorption of organic micropollutants onto granular activated carbon in fixed-bed adsorbers for advanced wastewater treatment. Water Research, 288, 124631 (13 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.watres.2025.124631, Institutional Repository

Adsorption of potentially toxic and persistent organic micropollutants (OMP) in granular activated carbon (GAC) fixed-bed adsorbers has become increasingly established as an advanced wastewater treatment process in recent years. To gain a deeper understanding of relevant removal mechanisms and operating conditions, this work investigates a multisolute model approach for the filter breakthrough curve (BTC) prediction of OMP and dissolved organic carbon based on the ideal adsorbed solution theory in combination with the tracer model for competitive adsorption and the linear driving force model for surface diffusion. The model was calibrated with equilibrium and kinetic batch experiments and validated based on operational data from full-scale and pilot-scale GAC filtration. Model predictions proved well for OMP removal dominated by adsorption mechanisms (benzotriazole, carbamazepine), but revealed the need to include biodegradation processes particularly for diclofenac and to further investigate the role of short empty bed contact times and desorption processes for the model performance. Implementation of filter backwashing showed an additional effect on the breakthrough curve behaviour and significantly improved model predictions for the full-scale GAC adsorber.
Appiah-Twum, H., Van Winckel, T., Santolin, J., De Paepe, J., Hellweg, S., Larsen, T. A., … Spiller, M. (2025). Environmental impact of integrating decentralized urine treatment in the urban wastewater management system: a comparative life cycle assessment. Water Research, 282, 123630 (14 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.watres.2025.123630, Institutional Repository

As municipal wastewater treatment regulations become more stringent, integrating source-separated urine treatment into centralized urban wastewater management offers a ‘hybrid’ solution. However, it is not clear how the environmental impacts of such hybrid systems compare to highly efficient centralized wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with low N2O emissions and electricity use. In this study, a consequential life cycle assessment was used to compare the environmental impact of three urine separation hybrid wastewater treatment systems – which combine decentralized urine treatment with a highly efficient central WWTP– to a centralized WWTP treating mixed wastewater (baseline). The studied urine treatment systems include partial nitrification & distillation, struvite precipitation & stripping/scrubbing, and partial nitritation/anammox. Additionally, the environmental impact of urine pre-treatment by calcium hydroxide and electrochemical alkalinization methods on the partial nitrification & distillation system was evaluated. The results show that all hybrid scenarios have a lower environmental impact in the freshwater ecotoxicity, marine toxicity, freshwater eutrophication, and marine eutrophication categories compared to the baseline. However, all hybrid scenarios resulted in higher impacts on global warming compared to the baseline, with direct N2O emissions being a key variable. Additionally, it was identified that urine alkalinization increased the environmental impact of the treatment system in 7 out of the 10 impact categories. A Pareto frontier analysis was developed to guide decision makers on where hybrid solutions could be used as a strategy to reduce the global warming impacts of conventional WWTPs. Using N2O-N emission factors of 75 WWTPs, 87 % of centralized WWTPs had a lower global warming impact compared to partial nitrification & distillation, and 91 % compared to partial nitritation/anammox hybrid solutions. However, at electricity demands of 1 kWh/PE/day and 1.5 kWh/PE/day at the central WWTP, both hybrid solutions showed lower global warming impact than all the studied WWTPs. The study highlights the potential of hybrid wastewater treatment solutions as a strategy to reduce global warming impacts in WWTPs with high N2O emissions and electricity use as well as a means to reduce marine eutrophication (i.e. nitrogen pollution).

Événements

20.01.​2026,
9h00
Eawag Dübendorf
Systèmes d'assainissement circulaires : technologies, opportunités et défis

Cours de base PEAK-VaLoo B37/26

26.02.​2026,

Projets de recherche

Is a space research program, aiming to develop a bioregenerative life support system for long-term space missions and space habitations for example on Mars.

Melissa «Micro Ecological Life Support System Alternative»
NEST building
La gestion durable d'eaux potable et usées appliquée et mise en pratique dans le bâtiment modulaire NEST.

WaterHub au NEST
Modelling of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) reactors

Eawag Aerobic Granular Sludge (AGS) Model
Many WWTPs are reaching their maximum treatment and clarification capacities, and solutions must be found to upgrade those existing plants.

Micro-sieving of municipal wastewater
Opportunities and risks of reusing treated wastewater in Switzerland

Water Reuse Switzerland
The Swiss Federal Council set the ambitious goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

SCENE - Reducing N2O emissions from wastewater treatment
Dynamic of greenhouse gas emissions in nutrient removing wastewater treatment plants

N2O - Dynamic of greenhouse gas emissions
Systematic investigation of hybrid model approaches for the prediction of nitrous oxide emissions in biological wastewater treatment

MAD4WW

Autres projets de recherche