Water Treatment Technologies

Water treatment is needed to provide humans with water of sufficient quality to use it safely for purposes ranging from drinking to industry and to avoid pollution of the living environment.

In module Water Treatment Technologies one will learn how to develop, research and design water treatment plants for the treatment of groundwater, surface water, municipal sewage and industrial water. Specific attention will be given to health impact, resource recovery and closing the urban water cycle. The module will cover separation, biological and chemical conversion technologies, including, membrane filtration, advanced oxidation, aerobic granular sludge and anaerobic treatment. In addition to project work and lectures, the module offers field visits to water treatment plants, experimental work in the laboratory and modelling exercises (Biowin, WAVE).

The technologies covered in this module, include:

• Anaerobic digestion: slurry digestion and high-rate anaerobic treatment

• Aerobic sludge: flocculent and attached (granules) growth

• Biofiltration

• Pressure-driven membranes (reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration)

• (Bio) sand filtration

• Ozone, chlorine, H2O2 and UV

• Electro(photo)chemical oxidation

• Activated carbon, GAC/ PAC/PACAS

• Ion exchange

• Resource recovery from sludge-based systems

The course is organised with:

• Project (one can choose the "designer" or "researcher" track), assessed by group report, presentations and individual oral exam

• Lectures on water treatment technologies, assessed with written exam

• Laboratory, model, excursion and in-class assignments (formative assessments)