Projects

500°C and potassium Methods

Sewage sludge produced during waste water purification contains not only biomass and pollutants but also precipitated phosphorus. By law, starting in 2026 this important component of fertilisers must be recovered, making Switzerland less dependent on phosphorus imports. In this context, HLS researchers are using pyrolysis to turn sewage sludge directly into fertiliser. This oxygen-free thermal process produces high-quality fertilisers, can easily be integrated into existing sewage treatment plants and will shortly begin a pilot phase.

A water filter for emergencies

Clean drinking water is a luxury. In many parts of the world water is polluted and full of harmful bacteria; the problem is particularly acute during humanitarian crises, such as in refugee camps. A simple short-term solution is a domestic water filter. There are many different types on the market, but their quality varies widely, so HLS researchers tested filters in three disaster areas. Working with the local population, they have made suggestions for product improvements.

ABIScreen: Use of bioassays for the assessment of industrial wastewaters

Bioassays are an important complement to toxicity detection in industrial wastewater

Accompanying the monitoring of the ozone test procedure with bioassays

ACTIWATE

ACTIWATE - Advanced concentrate treatment for integrated membrane based water reuse systems.

Agriloop

Pushing the frontier of circular agriculture by converting residues into novel economic, social and environmental opportunities

Agrocomposit

Biochar-compost composites for supporting site-specific soil agro-ecosystem functions and climate change mitigation

Aktifilt

Entfernung von Mikroverunreinigungen mit Adsorption und Tiefenfiltration

AquaNES

Demonstrating synergies in combined natural and engineered processes for water treatment systems.

Bacterial super-resistance decoded

Scientists and politicians agree: antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a major challenge for medicine, both now and in the future. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2050 more people will die as a result of infection by multi-resistant bacteria than from cancer. A team of researchers at the HLS have shed light on a particularly alarming mechanism by which bacteria not only survive antibiotics but even use them as nutrition.

BioPhosRec

Recycled phosphorous-enriched fertilizer

Business models for the Safe Reuse of Treated Wastewater in India

Support to Ganga Rejuvenation/India-EU Water Partnership Action; Consultancy on the Safe Reuse of Treated Water (SRTW) in India focusing on SRTW business model recommendations and the development of a SRTW Compendium considering approaches of the European Union.

Demoware

Innovation and Demonstration for a Competitive and Innovative European Water Reuse Sector

eDNA detection of aquatic diseases based on DNA fragments in environmental samples

Effects of pesticides and other environmental chemicals on the behavior and gene expression of gammarids

Effects of pesticides on the microbiological community in soils of agroecosystems

Effects of plant protection products on honey bees

Electra

Electricity driven low energy and chemical input technology for accelerated bioremediation.

Evaluating household water filters in emergencies

Our project evaluates 420 filters of five manufacturers in three different humanitarian contexts in Palestine, Somalia and Kenya.

Gravit`eau handwashing water recycling systems

Handwashing system recycling water for emergencies.

Gravit`eau Water Kiosks in Uganda

Decentralized water treatment in schools and communities in Uganda usinig gravity-driven membrane technology.

Ingreen

Production of functional innovative ingredients from paper and agro-food side-streams through sustainable and efficient tailor-made biotechnological processes for food, feed, pharma and cosmetic.

INSPIREWater

Innovative solutions in the process industry for next generation resource efficient water management.

LbL membrane modification for resource recovery

Layer-by-layer modification of membranes can render them suitable for phosphorus recovery.

Mar2Protect

Preventing groundwater contamination related to global and climate change trough a holistic approach on managed aquifer recharge

Membrane Filtration for critical raw material recovery

Mikroverunreinigungen in Abwasser

Schweizer Kläranlagen können mit Pulveraktivkohle auch Mikroverunreinigungen wie Medikamentenrückstände aus dem Abwasser entfernen.

nextGen

Towards A Next Generation Of Water Systems And Services For The Circular Economy.

nextGen

Towards A Next Generation Of Water Systems And Services For The Circular Economy.

NEXUS

NEXUS

Novel tandem, high efficiency photovoltaic technologies targeting low cost production with earth abundant materials

NYMPHE

New system-driven bioremediation of polluted habitats and environment

Okara Valorisation

Development of Sustainable Valorization Concept for Okara.

Online toxicity monitoring of industrial influents for the protection of wastewater treatment plants

ORRAP

Optimales Recycling von Ausbauasphalt auf verkehrsschwachen Strassen

Oxibieau

Mikroverunreinigungen in Trinkwasseraufbereitung entfernen - ein Verfahrensvergleich

Pavitra Ganga

Pavitra Ganga: Unlocking wastewater treatment, water reuse and resource recovery opportunities for urban and peri-urban areas in India.

PEARL

Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells with Carbon Electrodes

PertPV

PertPV

Perovskite Thin-film Photovoltaics.

Pesticide monitoring

PROAGUA

Cooperation for the Protection of Water Resources and the Strengthening of Skills in Sanitation – PROAGUA II

Prolific

Integrated cascades of PROcesses for the extraction and valorisation of proteins and bioactive molecules from Legumes, Fungi and Coffee agro-industrial side streams.

Pyrophos

Weiterentwicklung der Alkalipyrolyse zur Abtrennung von Schwermetallen und Herstellung eines marktfähigen Phosphor-Kalidüngers aus Klärschlamm

Reffnet 1-3

Promoting a resource-efficient economy with innovative, tailor-made, measurable and economical solutions, thus making an important contribution to the efficient and sustainable use of resources.

Saph Pani

Enhancement of natural water systems and treatment methods for safe and sustainable water supply in India.

Scale

SCALE

Production of Scandium compounds and Scandium Aluminum alloys from European metallurgical by-products.

SmartBreed

Industrial insect rearing as a decentralized, circular economy food waste recovery strategy

StopUP

Protecting the aquatic environment from urban runoff pollution.

Tailor-made membranes

Economic efficiency and environmental protection are often perceived as conflicting goals. Nevertheless, research shows that they can be combined if scarce resources are used efficiently or if raw materials are recovered. In the case of phosphorus, researchers at the HLS are already on the way to achieving this with the help of a multi-layer membrane that can be customised for specific objectives. In laboratory tests they have recovered 90 per cent of the phosphorus from acid waste solutions. The new technology will be used to extract phosphorus from sewage sludge.

Terminus

In-built Triggered Enzymes to Recycle Multi-layers: an INnovation for USes in plastic-packagin.

Treasures in production waste

Researchers at the School of Life Sciences FHNW (HLS) have developed a process for recovering the rare earth metal scandium from acidic industrial wastewater by means of filtration. The promising laboratory method was tested for its industrial suitability in a pilot trial at the GETEC PARK.SWISS AG.

Use of online biomonitoring systems in wastewater treatment plants

Using bacteria against crude oil spills

Crude oil spills are one of the greatest risks to the industrialised world. Oil spills in the sea are not only difficult to contain but also highly resistant to natural decomposition. HLS researchers have taken up the fight. As part of the EU Kill Spill project, they are working with more than 30 partners from science and industry, developing biotechnology techniques to clean up oil-polluted waters.

Water4Injection

Online water quality and integrity control in membrane-based Water for Injections production systems.