Environmental Analytics

The Environmental Analysis group develops analytical techniques, databases and statistical evaluation methods to study the behavior of pollutants in the environment or to identify the origin of certain substances. Our current research projects deal with microplastics and the determination of so-called "fingerprints".

Key Aspects

  • Pollutant x Microplastic
  • Environmental forensics with substance specific isotope analysis (CSIA)

Microplastics are formed as a degradation product from plastic pollution in the form of, for example, garbage bags or food packaging. On the one hand, we are concerned with the investigation of the sorption behavior of various hydrophobic persistent organic pollutants to microplastics in the environment. For this purpose, long-term field experiments in different European marine habitats are carried out in addition to long-term experiments under laboratory conditions. On the other hand, we deal with the characterization of microplastics in the matrix “compost”.

Fingerprinting“ aims at determining the origin of a raw material within a material cycle. Here, we develop analytical and statistical tools to (geographically) determine the ”fingerprint" of biodiesel from biomass grown in ecologically sensitive areas (e.g. carbon-rich peatlands as well as tropical forest areas).

Skills

Equipment for analytical work and data acquisition are available at the joint laboratory of IWAR Institute. The laboratory is used by the chair Material Flow Management and Resource Economy in the scope of work on the circular economy to examine the following questions:Development and optimization of analytical methods for the detection of organic compounds in leakage water and waste

  • Development and optimization of analytical methods for detecting organic compounds in leakage water and waste
  • Development and optimization of data acquisition techniques for continuous online monitoring of industrial waste incineration plants
  • Analysis of waters and wastewaters
  • Trace analysis of halogenated organic compounds
  • Immission and emission monitoring at and in the vicinity of biological waste treatment plants and waste incineration plants
  • Analysis of allocation criteria for landfills according to appendix 3 of the German regulation governing waste deposits
  • Analysis of the solid matter contained in scoria from waste incineration plants and landfills
  • Measurement of CH4 oxidation in landfill cap systems
  • Monitoring of technical facilities for wastewater and waste air purification
  • Analysis of wastewater and sewage sludge as defined in the wastewater monitoring regulations (EKVO) and sewage ordinance (AbfKlärV)
  • Investigations in the context of environmental remediation
  • Development and optimization of oxygenation systems
  • Measurement of oxygenation in conventional activated sludge plants and in membrane aeration plants, both domestic and abroad