Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB
Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB
Clean water coming from an old pipeline

Water technologies

Expand all Close all

Water management and water treatment is confronted with new challenges. The pollution of the past as well as climate change have a direct impact on the natural sources of water, surface waters and groundwater. Insufficiently treated wastewater that is discharged into bodies of water results in long-term damage that then has to be tackled later on at great expense. The pollution of rivers, lakes and groundwater with pesticides, mineral oil residues or pharmaceuticals are examples of this.

In the water technologies competence area, the innovation field "Water Technologies and Resource Recovery" therefore  develops concepts, processes and technologies for purifying water and recovering valuable substances from water.

For water management, the innovation field develops comprehensive concepts, e.g. within the framework of the Morgenstadt City Lab. One focus is on international cooperation to develop and adapt solutions for emerging countries (e.g. South Africa, India, Brazil).

For water treatment we develop and optimize biological, electro-oxidative and reductive processes and investigate your wastewater with our AOP test facility.

Furthermore, our focus is on desalination of process water and wastewater and recycling of corresponding acids/alkalis.

Process design is always based on microbiological or process engineering principles and ranges from the planning, commissioning and optimization of laboratory and pilot plants to the planning, construction, commissioning and optimization of innovative demonstration plants in cooperation with our industrial partners.  

Concepts and technologies

 

© Fraunhofer IGB

Water management and digitization

  • Concepts for semicentralized water infrastructures
  • Morgenstadt City Lab
  • Water reuse
more info
 

© Fraunhofer IGB, Marius Mohr

Biological wastewater treatment

  • Optimization of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants
  • Specific reactor concepts
  • Utilization of wastewater ingredients
more info
 

Desalination

  • Water treatment through recovery of process additives
  • Electrodialysis, capacitive deionization, free-flow electrophoresis, electro-membrane filtration
more info
 

Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOP)

  • Processes for the removal of persistent substances
  • Oxidative degradation of micropollutants
  • Application tests in pilot plants
more info
 

Photolysis

  • Degradation of contaminations with UV light
  • Development of light sources, reactors and processes
more info
 

Electrophysical precipitation

  • Separation of materials that are difficult to fell
  • Substitution of chemical precipitants
  • Emulsion splitting
more info
 

Electro-oxidation and -reduction

  • Degradation by anodic oxidation and/or cathodic reduction
  • Oxidation also via radicals
more info

Advantages and applications of our solutions

Water management: Optimized water use, water reuse, and integration with energy management

Intelligent concepts for the purification and distribution of water are more in demand than ever. In order to ensure the supply of the various sectors in which we need water (private sector, agriculture, industry), even in times of water scarcity exacerbated by climate change, Fraunhofer IGB relies on semi-centralized water and wastewater management, which is linked to appropriate energy and nutrient management in the sense of the nexus approach. We also take into account geographical and climatic conditions, such as seasonal water shortages in arid and semi-arid regions.

Integrative approach and advantages:

  • Cost-effective water management solutions
  •  Semi-centralized treatment of wastewater streams
  • Resilience through coupling with waste management concepts, energy supply from renewable sources and future-oriented building technology
  • Digitalization with the help of intelligent sensor networks
  • Process and wastewater as a source of raw materials and energy
    • Degradation of organic matter by biological processes
    • Material and energetic utilization of organic load
    • Recovery of nutrients

Applications

We develop water management concepts for rural regions or urban areas (new housing developments, urban districts in need of redevelopment) as well as for leisure resorts, tourist centers and hotel complexes. The system is particularly useful wherever there is no water infrastructure with a sewer network and central sewage treatment plant. Or where the old infrastructure can no longer be adapted to new challenges arising from climate change or the population moving away.
 

 

Possibilities of oxidative and electrolytic technologies: Elimination of micropollutants, precipitation and desalination

In numerous production processes water is used as a solvent or means of conveyance, as cooling water or washing water. Increasing costs for the purification and disposal of wastewater, regional or seasonal shortage of water, and a growing awareness of environmental issues within companies have increased water recycling. Water is used several times and impurities have to be removed selectively. In many cases the currently established processes and systems cannot do the job without adaptation and support from new, selective systems.

The use of oxidative and electrolytic processes for water treatment is one of the main fields of research of Fraunhofer IGB. We work on the improvement of existing processes such as adsorption, filtration, flocculation/precipitation, electrodialysis, homogenization and disinfection as well as on new approaches in process and unit operations. Together with industrial partners, new concepts and technologies are being developed at Fraunhofer IGB also to industrial scale. Water treatment and the circulation of process water can thus be carried out economically and sustainably.

Advantages

With oxidative and electrolytic processes, it is possible to oxidize dissolved contaminants or pollutants that are difficult to break down. In general, electrolytic and oxidative processes have the following advantages:

  • Complete mineralization of pollutants possible
  • Staff savings and increased reliability
  • No increase in salinity, which enables recirculation
  • No disinfection by-products – in particular no halogenated compounds
  • Less handling of hazardous chemical agents
  • Little or no sludge formed
  • Hygienic outflow water
  • Robust process – discharge criteria can be met reliably
  • Available quickly – standby operation possible
  • Suitable for varying quantities and qualities of wastewater

Applications

At present the focus is on industry-oriented studies of landfill leachate and textile effluents. The aim here is to meet the discharge criteria of the communal treatment plants in a cost-effective way. In other projects we have developed new technical solutions for UV treatment and anodic oxidation together with our industrial partners. These projects aim to make the solutions ready for market launch.

Our offer: From development to integration of processes

Process development

In cooperation with industrial partners, new concepts and technologies for the sustainable treatment and purification of process water for a very wide range of applications are being developed and optimized at Fraunhofer IGB up to industrial scale. Water treatment and the circulation of process water can thus be carried out economically and sustainably.

Process optimization

In many cases the currently established water treatment processes and systems cannot do the job without adaptation and support from new, selective systems. Fraunhofer IGB is therefore working on the further development of existing processes such as adsorption, filtration, flocculation/precipitation, electrodialysis and disinfection as well as on new approaches to processes and components.

System integration

Especially in the case of typical industrial wastewaters with a complex composition, efficient separation of substances is frequently not possible with just one single process stage. By combining and integrating various processes we are able to develop efficient and coordinated solutions, which are optimized in their overall impact as a process chain regarding selectivity and energy efficiency. In this way, results can be achieved that exceed the sum of the results of the individual process stages.

more info

Range of services

  • Feasibility studies, market and technology analyses
  • Scientific assessment, consulting, studies on various water treatment processes
  • Comprehensive, modern analytics for the characterization of wastewater and process water
  • Development of plant technology including automation up to industrial prototypes together with industrial partners
  • Process design and technical/scientific project support by an interdisciplinary team from the fields of process engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, chemistry, biology and electrical engineering

 

Biological processes

  • Development of biotechnical purification processes for industrial wastewater
  • Development of reactor systems in modular design, testing possibilities (semi-technical)
  • Design and optimization of industrial and municipal wastewater treatment plants based on experimentally determined design parameters
  • Anaerobic and aerobic degradation tests

 

Oxidative and electrolytical processes

  • Process optimization also for highly viscous media, for example cooling lubricants, foodstuffs, sludges and pastes
  • Holistic solution approaches through combination with aerobic and anaerobic biological processes
  • Combination with processes for desalination or recovery of acids and alkalis

Individual offer

We will be happy to work out an individual offer for you.

Infrastructure and equipment

  • Laboratory facilities for customer-specific tests
  • Pilot plants for:
    • Electrophysical precipitation
    • Ozone treatment +/- hydrogen peroxide +/-catalyst
    • UV treatment
    • Ultrasonic treatment
    • Anodic oxidation (direct / indirect), cathode reactions
  • Mobile prototype plants for on-site investigations

 

Biological processes

  • Bioreactors of different types and sizes (laboratory, pilot and technical scale)
  • Mobile membrane bioreactors for wastewater treatment
  • Pilot plant for environmental and bioprocess engineering
  • Test plants for various membrane processes, e.g. rotating disk filters
  • Mobile pilot plants on a m3 scale to generate design data on site for the planning and construction of innovative demonstration plants

 

Oxidative raw- and process water treatment

AOP research facility for the development of oxidative processes for wastewater treatment:

  • an ozone generator (up to 4 g ozone/h),
  • an ozone reactor,
  • a UV reactor (2 kW medium-pressure mercury lamp),
  • ultrasonic units (25 kHz and 40 kHz; 1.7 kW)
  • an electrolysis cell (up to 50 A and 10 V) with separate anolyte and catholyte circuits (electrode surface 180 cm2 each).

 

Electrolytic raw- and process water treatment

  • Comprehensive laboratory and pilot plant equipment with reactors of up to 500 l/h throughput capacity for the treatment of process waters of various volumes

Information materials – Water management and treatment

 

Brochure “Systems solutions for water supply, water treatment and wastewater purification”

Download
 

Brochure “Research for future water usage”

Download
 

Brochure “Treatment and purification of process (waste)water - Ressource- and energy-efficient”

Download
 

Product sheet “Advanced oxidation processes without additives”

Download
 

Product sheet “Plasma process for water purification”

Download

Desalination

 

Product sheet “Electrodialysis (ED)”

Download
 

Product sheet “Electro-Membrane filtration (EMF)”

Download

Scientific publications on water management and biological wastewater treatment

Scientific publications on oxidative and electrolytic processes

Physical-chemical water technologies

Projects for oxidative raw and process water treatment

demEAUmed

  • The demEAUmed project deals with innovative ideas for an optimal and safe closed water cycle in Euro-Mediterranean tourist facilities. The aim is to reduce the consumption of fresh water in hotel facilities, green and recreational areas, through alternative water sources such as treated groundwater, rainwater.  

OxFloc

  • The EU project OxFloc is concerned with water treatment, where an integrated approach is used to break down and remove hazardous substances using a single-stage oxidative-adsorptive process. In the future, this should not only reduce the operating costs of wastewater treatment, but also achieve a far-reaching benefit for the environment.  

NAWADES

  • The aim of the EU-funded NAWADES project is to research, design, manufacture and test a new concept for seawater desalination using membranes.  

Light4CleanWater

  • In the EU project Light4CleanWater the Fraunhofer IGB is involved in the development of a UV treatment system that breaks down toxic substances from wastewater streams into harmless components.  

Planar UV light source

  • In cooperation with a European industrial partner, Fraunhofer IGB has developed a novel high-power UV light source in which the UV light is emitted from a plasma that is excited by microwaves. The lamp is suitable for the disinfection of water.  

Decolorization of organic dyes by anodic oxidation

  • With regard to the treatment of real waste water from the textile industry, in orienting experiments a molecularly dissolved organic dye and a finely particulate organic dye were broken down by more than 90 percent - until the liquids appeared colourless to the human eye. The study also included the determination of the most energy-efficient process parameters and a comparative characterization of the degradation products.

ConductMem

  • The EU project ConductMem aims to develop a system in which the formation of a biofilm by germicidal oxidative substances is permanently avoided. The oxidative substances are to be electrolytically produced by the filter membrane itself.  

Reduction of the biological contamination of cooling lubricants with ultrasonic/ozone  

  • This project aims to extend the service life of cooling lubricants without toxic chemicals and to improve their quality. To this end, new physical technologies such as focused ultrasonic cavitation, the application of pulsed electrical and electromagnetic fields, and sonochemical and wet oxidative processes are being investigated.  

ADOXPOL – Industrial wastewater treatment with ozone

  • Within the framework of an EU-funded project, Fraunhofer IGB, together with European partners from industry and research, is currently developing a technology for the efficient and cost-effective purification of industrial wastewater. By combining flotation and oxidation in one process step, the advantages of both technologies can be used and further benefits can be achieved through synergy.  

Cleanleachate

  • Landfill leachate is produced during the decomposition of waste deposited in landfills. This must not be allowed to enter the environment, as it contains substances that are harmful to health in considerable concentrations. In this project an oxidative treatment process (AOP) with a novel electrolysis cell optimized for landfill leachate is being developed.

Projects for electrolytic raw and process water treatment

ECOWAMA

  • In the EU-funded project ECOWAMA "ECO-efficient management of water in the manufacturing industry", a project consortium with partners from research and industry under the leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart is developing an efficient and cost-effective method for the electrochemical treatment of this waste water with the aim of recovering the valuable substances and reusing them in the production process.

REWAGEN

  • In the EU project REWAGEN "Electrochemical WAter treatment system in the dairy industry with hydroGEN REcovery and electricity production", a European project consortium with partners from research and industry under the leadership of the Fraunhofer IGB is developing a multi-stage process for the efficient electrochemical treatment of process and waste water from the milk-processing industry.

Nanofloc

  • The rapid market introduction of products containing synthetic nanoparticles (ENP, Engineered Nanoparticles), including in the paint and coatings industry, has raised concerns about their impact on health and the environment. Scientists from the EU project "NANOFLOC" are developing a technology that removes nanoparticles by means of electro-agglomeration at comparatively low cost.  

OilEClear

  • In the EU project OilEClear we aim to develop a reliable, compact and fully automatic treatment plant based on electrocoagulation to separate emulsified oil from bilge water (ships) and from waste water from drilling platforms.

RAZone

  • In the EU project RAZone, we would like to improve the productivity of aquacultures and minimize risks associated with the use of ozone in the treatment of circulating water.

Halving the treatment costs for paper waste water through electro-physical precipitation

  • For a paper manufacturer, we optimized the plant for cleaning process waste water and expanded its capacity. A conventional flocculation was replaced by a plant based on the principle of electro-physical precipitation. By saving chemicals such as flocculants, polyelectrolytes and caustic soda, the costs for waste water treatment could be halved.

Removal of finely suspended substances from paint waste water by electro-physical precipitation

  • In a feasibility study for an aircraft manufacturer, we were able to successfully treat paint waste water from the painting plants by means of electro-physical precipitation. The turbidity of the waste water was reduced by 95 percent and the COD value (chemical oxygen demand) by 75 percent. Similar investigations were carried out on behalf of paint manufacturers. We were able to show that the turbidity, COD value and odour were also significantly reduced.

SalinityScan

  • In this EU project, Fraunhofer IGB is involved in the development of a novel flow measurement system within a trans-European consortium. The measuring system is to enable the exact determination of the volume flow rates of multiphase mixtures of oil, water and gas, as they occur in offshore oil production.

Projects for thermal raw and process water treatment

DeSol - Seawater desalination with a solar powered vacuum evaporator system

  • Together with European partners from industry and research, Fraunhofer IGB is developing an energy-efficient and cost-effective technology for seawater desalination. A multi-stage vacuum evaporation process enables the efficient use of heat at low temperatures. Although it is a vacuum process, no vacuum or jet pumps are required.

Low pressure evaporation of industrial waste water

  • Many small and medium-sized industrial companies produce highly contaminated waste water, which must be treated or disposed of in accordance with the applicable directives. For smaller amounts of wastewater, disposal by external service providers is usually chosen. In this case, vacuum evaporation offers significant savings potential.

Related Links: