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Award for technology that removes pharmaceutical residues from water
A water purification technology developed in Wageningen has won the Vernufteling, an annual engineering award. The technology uses microorganisms and a chemical treatment to cleanse wastewater of harmful, difficult-to-degrade microcontaminants such as pharmaceutical residues, hormones, and pesticides. The increasing presence of these substances in our surface and drinking water makes such purification increasingly necessary.
The so-called Aurea technology was developed by researchers from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in collaboration with the engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV. Professor Huub Rijnaarts, chair of Environmental and Water Technology, conceived the original idea for this purification technique with his team. He describes the award as the crowning achievement of twelve years of work. "In that time, we have gone from identifying the problem to developing a sustainable, new technology that offers a solution. It is wonderful to see, and the Vernufteling confirms our success; we are thrilled to win this award." The Aurea technology is now ready for large-scale use, with the first large-scale installation set to be placed in Zeist soon.
The Vernufteling confirms our success; we are thrilled to win this award
Innovative two-step process
Rijnaarts attributes the effectiveness of the new technology in removing microcontaminants to its two-step system: first, bacteria break down as many organic substances in the water as possible. Next, the remaining harmful, hard-to-degrade substances are tackled. The water flows into a small tank where ozone, a highly reactive substance, is injected to break down the remaining microcontaminants. By allowing microorganisms to perform the initial purification, the method requires little energy and ozone. This is beneficial, as higher doses of ozone can produce harmful byproducts like bromate.
Funding and progress
The project surrounding the Aurea technology has been subsidised through the TKI Water Technology programme. In this programme, WUR and Royal HaskoningDHV worked together to bring the technology from proof of principle to pilot scale. Researchers utilised the MODUTECH facility at the Environmental Technology chair group in Wageningen. Over the past two years, Royal HaskoningDHV has continued further scaling up. The Wageningen team includes Alette Langenhoff, Arnoud de Wilt (currently working at Royal HaskoningDHV), Koen van Gijn (currently working at Waterschap Rijn en IJssel), and Huub Rijnaarts.
Though it sounds simple, Rijnaarts and his team dedicated twelve years to developing this technology. After initial small-scale trials in the laboratory, the researchers tested their system on wastewater from the nearby treatment plant in Bennekom. “Our research facility has a direct connection to the treatment plant, allowing us to test our technology on real wastewater”, Rijnaarts explains. They completes these tests two years ago, and since then, Royal HaskoningDHV has scaled the technology to full scale.
We have not just developed a successful technology; we have also trained people who now work with this knowledge. We are proud of that
According to the professor, the successful collaboration and combining of expertise from WUR and Royal HaskoningDHV has led to the project's success. "We have not just developed a successful technology; we have also trained people who now work with this knowledge. We are proud of that”
New project focuses on PFAS
The Aurea technology will significantly clean up wastewater in the Netherlands, though it only addresses organic substances that are biologically or chemically degradable. For instance, it cannot break down PFAS. However, professor Rijnaarts, his team and Royal HaskoningDHV, are working on addressing this issue in the coming years. "A few years ago, we identified PFAS in water as a problem," says Rijnaarts. Colleagues at Wageningen are already investigating how to capture PFAS. Rijnaarts and his team aim to develop a technology that will subsequently break down captured PFAS. "That will be quite a challenge, as PFAS is very stable," he adds.
The Vernufteling
The Vernufteling is an annual award organised by Koninklijke NLingenieurs in collaboration with the trade magazine De Ingenieur. This award honours the most innovative and ingenious project by a consultancy or engineering firm. Projects that are technologically advanced, groundbreaking, and socially relevant are eligible. This can range from newly developed techniques to smart combinations of existing methods. Crucial for the assessment is that the project demonstrates ingenuity and is both economically and socially significant.