2024
Project Title:
Red-CO2-PNA – Reducing CO₂-emssions from municipal wastewater treatment – comparing different partial nitritation/anammox applications
Duration:
July 2021 – June 2024
Description:
In the “Red-CO2-PNA” research project, the Department WUB at TU Darmstadt, together with a partner in Israel, are developing, optimizing and comparing various efficient nitrogen removal systems to enable the implementation of deammonification in the main stream of municipal wastewater treatment plants and thus reduce energy requirements and costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions from the biological stage.
2023
Project Title:
MOBILab: Wastewater-Based Epidemiology: A Mobile Laboratory Concept for Rapid and Flexible Deployment
Duration:
January 2021 – August 2023
Description:
To enhance the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants and other pathogens, this project will develop a mobile laboratory that enables on-site PCR testing and sequencing of wastewater samples, specifically addressing the logistical challenges faced by small wastewater treatment plants.
Project Title:
RAaaO: Reduction of antibiotic resistance using acoustically active ozonation in advanced wastewater treatment
Duration:
May 2020 – April 2023
Description:
The aim of this project was to develop and optimise a new and more cost-effective combination of ultrasound and ozonation as a method for reducing antibiotic resistance in the fourth purification stage. At the same time, new molecular biological monitoring methods were used to investigate a broad ARG spectrum in order to provide a comprehensive picture of the performance of ultrasound and ozonation as a combination process.
Project Title:
ESI-CorA: Emergency Support Instrument for monitoring Covid 19 and its variants in waste waters
Duration:
November 2021 – March 2023
Description:
The pilot project ESI-CorA involves the monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples at 48 sewage treatment plant locations across Germany, aiming to harmonize and optimize the technical procedures for wastewater surveillance. The TU Darmstadt has taken on the genome sequencing for the analysis of virus variants at 20 sites with three sampling phases as part of this project.
2022
Project Title:
EU Super Sites: Surveillances of SARS CoV-2 RNA by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) in wastewater samples
Duration:
2021 – 2022
Description:
This project aimed to detect SARS-CoV-2 mutations and variants of concern (VOC) in wastewater samples from six different European cities by examining both the cities' wastewater and that from local transportation hubs (such as airports, bus terminals, and ferry yards) to monitor the early import of new virus variants through next-generation sequencing.
Project Title:
Rue-ARG: Retention of antibiotic-resistant germs and genes in combination with trace substance adsorption using PAH/UF combination
Duration:
April 2020 – März 2023
Description:
The aim of this project is to provide in-depth knowledge about the retention of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and resistance genes (ARG) using a combination of ultrafiltration (UF) with powdered activated carbon (PAC) dosing. This approach goes beyond most previous efforts that focus solely on trace substance reduction. The project pursues an integrated approach that goes beyond the fourth purification stage for trace substance elimination (in this case PAH dosing). A direct integration of a fifth stage for the reduction of trace substances in combination with ARB/ARG is being considered.
Project Title:
React-EU: Pandemic response: Supporting the sustainable transformation of the economy and society at the Technical University of Darmstadt: Pandemic response, sub-project 3 – Expansion of the detection possibilities of SARS-CoV-2 viruses and other pathogens in wastewater
Duration:
January 2022 – December 2022
Description:
The Department of Water and Environmental Biotechnology operates one of the leading laboratories for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 using genome sequencing and is active as an EU reference laboratory. In order to expand and further develop the instrumental infrastructure at the department, extensions to the analysis capacities and methods are being applied for. The acquisition of an automated sequencing platform, a laser microscope and an experimental facility will allow the department to expand and consolidate research in the field of wastewater-based epidemiology and the behaviour of pathogens, in particular SARS-CoV-2.
Project Title:
HeNaSars-V: omprehensive Approach to Tracking SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Hesse
Duration:
August 2021 – December 2022
Description:
The research project in Hesse explored, for the first time from September 2021 to December 2022, the possibility of monitoring SARS-CoV-2 variants through wastewater-based surveillance using genomic sequencing.
Project Title:
SARS-GenASeq – SARS-CoV-2 Genome in Wastewater: Monitoring Pandemic Development through Sequencing
Duration:
April 2021 – March 2022
Description:
The project aims to use wastewater as a source of information for tracking epidemiological developments, particularly SARS-CoV-2 variants, through genome sequencing and to improve the necessary methods in Germany to detect relevant mutations and their impacts on vaccines at an early stage.
2021
Project Title:
CombO3Carb: Investigation of the performance of the process combination of ozonation and granulated activated carbon for the removal of organic trace substances using OZONFILT® and CONTIFLOW® GAK
Duration:
October 2019 – June 2021
Description:
At the wastewater treatment plant in Bickenbach of the Bickenbach/Seeheim-Jugenheim wastewater association, a semi-technical test plant was supervised with the aim of further purifying the wastewater treatment plant effluent. The focus of the investigation is a comparison of the sole activated carbon filtration in continuously operated activated carbon filters with the combination of ozonation and subsequent activated carbon filtration with regard to the removal of conventional wastewater parameters as well as anthropogenic trace substances such as pharmaceuticals and other chemicals. Furthermore, the formation of the carcinogenic oxidation by-product bromate through ozonation was investigated.
2020
Project Title:
EmiStop: Identification of industrial plastic emissions using innovative detection methods and technology development to prevent environmental pollution via the wastewater pathway
Duration:
January 2018 – December 2020
Description:
EmiStop is research into the systematic recording and avoidance of microplastic emissions into surface waters from industrial wastewater. The entire industrial value chain is at the centre of the research project.
Project Title:
EPoNa – Joint Research Project: Upgrade of Wastewater Ponds to generate Irrigation Water, using the Cuvelai-Etosha-Basin in Namibia as an Example
Duration:
September 2016 – December 2020
Description:
The aim of this project was to develop a concept and demonstrate an exemplary rehabilitation, expansion and upgrading of a wastewater pond system in Namibia. To this end, a combination of management measures and upstream and downstream technical measures were implemented and tested for their applicability to the production of irrigation water. The investigations were carried out at a wastewater pond facility in Outapi (northern Namibia), and the effects of the technical measures for upgrading the ponds were analysed over a period of 4 years. The overall project pursued an integrated system solution, taking into account economic, educational, social, ecological and technical aspects.