Completed research projects

The following is a list of completed research projects by the chair of Water and Environmental Biotechnology.

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.

The MOBILab

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.

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Final Report (RKI)

Final Report (Projektträger Karlsruhe)

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.

Final Report

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 Homepage

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.

Project Title Duration Description
Reduction of nitrous oxide emissions from wastewater treatment plants through the targeted use of nitrous oxide-reducing bacteria 2018 – 2019 The aim of the project was to investigate possibilities for a targeted biological reduction of nitrous oxide emissions from wastewater treatment plants. To this end, particularly suitable NrB were to be isolated and analysed for their applicability in wastewater. The project focussed in particular on the tolerance of NrB to wastewater as well as their N2O conversion rates and the oxygen tolerance of this process. NrB were isolated from the activated sludge of a wastewater treatment plant in Langen and a known and a newly isolated NrB were characterised using micro-respirometry. Furthermore, growth experiments were carried out and analysed by nitrous oxide respiration in the presence of various wastewater components.
EiVeN-G:
Development of innovative processes for nitrogen elimination from highly contaminated fermentation residues
2017 – 2019 Nitrogen pollution in water bodies and soils is a major problem and has an impact on drinking water supplies. The spreading of liquid manure on agricultural land exacerbates this problem, particularly due to increasing production capacities in livestock farming. Despite the amendment of the Fertiliser Ordinance, the need for reliable, energy-efficient solutions for nitrogen reduction remains high, although cost-effective options have hardly been available to date. The EiVeN-G research project investigated the use of deammonification for effective nitrogen elimination from liquid manure and fermentation residues, particularly under difficult conditions such as high salt and metal concentrations. A further aim was long-term collaboration with Chilean partners to jointly develop solutions for nitrogen elimination. The exchange of knowledge and methods should lead to the development of joint approaches for both countries.
AVLEE-N-DeAm:
Feasibility study for the large-scale implementation of deammonification at the wastewater treatment plant of the Langen wastewater association, Egelsbach, Erzhausen
2017 – 2019 The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of a potential partial flow treatment of the centrate on the existing biological treatment in the wastewater treatment plant in Langen of the AVLEE. The influence on the air input of the biological treatment and thus on the energy consumption was the main focus of the work. In addition, the effects on the effluent concentrations (dissolved nitrogen compounds and COD) were investigated and analysed.
Activated sludge Characterisation:
Characterisation of the microbiological composition of the activated sludge of the Niederrad WWTP
2017 – 2018 To date, little is known about the microbiological and functional diversity and the interaction of the different groups of bacteria in wastewater systems. This applies both to classic processes such as nitrification/denitrification, which can be carried out by a large number of bacteria, and to processes that have received less attention to date. The aims of this research project are therefore, in a first step, to determine the genetic potential of a wastewater treatment plant with biological nitrogen elimination using molecular methods, and then to carry out a detailed evaluation of the data obtained and its assessment.
N-Metagenomics:
Metagenomics as a tool for a better process understanding for the implementation of complex biological nitrogen elimination processes
2017 – 2018 The aim of the study was to gain a comprehensive insight into the microbial communities of various wastewater treatment plants and different biological treatment stages, as well as to record and compare the composition and gene pool of the sludge. This gene pool forms the basis for identifying the similarities and differences between the plants. With this information about the occurrence of certain bacteria under certain conditions, conclusions can then be drawn about operation and performance.
MABRs for mainstream short-cut nitrogen removal:
Feasibility study on resource-saving nitrogen removal with membrane-aerated biofilm reactors on a laboratory scale
2017 – 2018 The Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR) is a special configuration of a solid biofilm system in which the biofilm grows on a permeable membrane that supplies the oxygen for the biomass. These reactors have evolved in recent years and the technology has now made it to large scale, with several pilot studies underway. The aim of this project was to investigate the MABR concept from SUEZ in terms of its suitability for short-cut nitrogen removal. Experiments were carried out on a laboratory scale with four MABRs from SUEZ (Canada).
SEMIZENTRAL: Resource-efficient and flexible supply and disposal infrastructure systems for fast-growing cities of the future – Phase 2: Research and development.
Sub-Project Process water treatment
2017 – 2018 Phase 2 involved both the construction of the RRC in Qingdao and the gradual commissioning of the individual plant modules, from grey and black water treatment and food waste pre-treatment through to energy recovery from the biogas produced. During regular operation of the RRC, research questions were addressed and optimisation measures were carried out during operation. The Department of Wastewater Management (now Water and Environmental Biotechnology) was responsible for the sub-project Process Water Treatment using Sequencing Batch Reactor.
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DeHaKeS:
Development of a process for the use of deammonification in the main stream of municipal wastewater treatment plants for energy-efficient nitrogen elimination
2015 – 2018 The aim of the proposed project was therefore the targeted investigation and optimisation of a process concept for nitrogen elimination using deammonification with a novel reactor concept for use in the main stream. To this end, a pilot plant was designed, built and operated and the performance of deammonification in the main stream was investigated after a high-load biology. The project focussed on testing suitable control strategies and evaluating them with regard to operational stability, energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, an overall assessment of the process was carried out with regard to the CO2 footprint in comparison to conventional wastewater treatment.
AVLEE II:
Further removal of trace substances, phosphorus, microplastics and antibiotic-resistant germs at the wastewater treatment plant of the Langen, Egelsbach, Erzhausen wastewater association
2015 – 2018 Due to the importance of the groundwater in the Hessian Ried for the drinking water supply of the Rhine-Main region, the Hessian trace substance strategy aims to reduce trace substance inputs into water bodies. The research project investigated the improvement of water quality through the use of granulated activated carbon and filtration processes at the wastewater treatment plants of the Langen, Egelsbach, Erzhausen wastewater association (AVLEE). The project gained insights into phosphorus reduction, bacteria and microplastic removal as well as the operating costs and behaviour of activated carbon filters.
NiddaMan:
Development of a sustainable sustainable water resource management using the example of the catchment area of the Nidda
2015 – 2018 The NiddaMan project aimed to develop an innovative system solution to improve water quality and sustainable water resource management for the Nidda. Task packages included the development of technical measures to reduce substance inputs from wastewater discharges along the Nidda as well as the development and evaluation of the application reference, in particular large-scale realisation and economic issues.
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