Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "WATERSIDE: Active Passive Water Pollution Sampling Device." "Ronny Blust" "Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT), Internet Data Lab (IDLab), Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research (SPHERE)" "The project aims to develop an active passive water sampler for inorganic and organic pollutants. The apparatus allows the time integrated monitoring of surface waters and waste streams. A controlled water flux is directed across an array of sorbents which accumulate different classes of pollutants. The operational and kinetic characteristics of the sampler will be determined experimentally and the results compared with biota in lab and field conditions." "Active passive water pollution sampling device (WATERSIDE)." "Ronny Blust" "Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT), Internet Data Lab (IDLab), Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research (SPHERE)" "Previously an active passive sampler for accumulation of pollutants from water was developed into a laboratory prototype. Its n°1 feature is controlled flow through the device, such that sampling is independent of hydrodynamic flow in the water body. This project will establish a field-deployable prototype. Its valorization value lies in standardization and the replacement of biota sampling." "Potable water from wastewater via nature based solution + UF in Kericho Kenya - Kericho Circular Water" "Diederik Rousseau" "Department of Green Chemistry and Technology" "Due to population growth and increasing water usage, various regions worldwide become water stressed. Converting wastewater into potable and/or process water can play a crucial role in closing the gap between water demand and supply. In contrast to rainwater, wastewater is weather-independent, which leads to fewer fluctuations in the water supply. Moreover, water should never be treated as a waste product but reused as a resource in a circular way. Upgrading wastewater to potable water with low environmental impact is the focus of this integrated technological solution.Kericho in Kenya is located 250km NW of Nairobi, not far from Lake Victoria. The local WasteWater Treatment Plant (WWTP) treats the domestic wastewater of part of the 150,000 inhabitants. It consists of clarifiers, trickling filters and maturation ponds. Currently, the treated wastewater is discharged into the river. To make the region more climate resilient and guarantee water supply at drinking water standards in all seasons, a treatment sequence will be designed, built and monitored.Ultrafiltration (UF) is a proven technology that separates pollutants and pathogens from water by means of membranes. The pores of these membranes are sensitive to clogging by biofouling and solids which impacts the performance of the UF and results in frequent/expensive maintenance. This problem is solved by placing a nature-based pretreatment that removes organic matter, nutrients and solids. Based on available data, the an aerated constructed wetland (ACW) in Kericho will treat a flow of 990m³/d on an estimated surface area of 1,400m². A UF membrane filtration unit will be used to further upgrade the treated waste water to process water or even drinking water quality.This project covers the design, and construction phase of the planned installation, monitoring of the water quality after start-up, training of the operators, and capacity building for scientists from the nearby university. Funding sources are G-STIC and the Kericho County Government." "Semi-active photocatalysis technology for abatement of urban air pollution." "Siegfried Denys" "Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)" "The goal of this project is to develop semi-active photocatalytic systems for mitigating air pollution in urban environments. With semi-active systems is meant photocatalytic systems with (i) improved functionality (enhanced activity under solar light conditions), (ii) in which the transfer of pollutants to the photocatalytic surfaces is increased (by inducing natural or forced convection) and (iii) where the sunlight is optimally utilized by optimizing the received light intensity. The hypothesis is that systems that meet these conditions are superior to so-called passive photocatalytic systems. In this project, a promising plasmon-enhanced photocatalytic material, developed by our research group, will be characterized in terms of its sensitivity to sunlight. The relevant reaction kinetic parameters will hereby be determined and will be used for designing semi-active air purification systems based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models, thus limiting the need for extensive experiments. The most promising system will then be built on scale model and will be extensively tested under controlled conditions. Finally, a demonstration model will be built in a realistic environment. The ultimate goal of the IOF-POC project is to demonstrate the feasibility of semi-active photocatalytic systems and thus to awaken the interest of potential industrial partners and other stakeholders." "AirTech'byDesign: Injecting Technology into Urban Design in the battle against Street Canyon Pollution." "Maarten Van Acker" "Intelligence in PRocesses, Advanced Catalysts and Solvents (iPRACS), Biochemical Wastewater Valorization & Engineering (BioWaVE), Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL), Research Group for Urban Development" "The poor air quality in our cities is currently at the centre of public debates on health living conditions and at the pinnacle of innovative urban planning and mobility policies. Especially, so-called 'street canyons' represent the most problematic arteries of our cities: these are narrow inner-city roads that are flanked on both sides by a continuous row of (high) buildings. In these street canyons, the air quality is often below the European standards and those of the World Health Organization. Both urban design and technological solutions, such as photocatalyst, have proven to be a powerful tools for improving the air quality and overall health. However, this research is often restricted to a single domain, sector or discipline (either bioengineering or urban design) and is often limited to the analysis of the impact of a single parameter on air quality. Secondly, the most well-known measures focus on the reduction of emissions of pollutants and are situated on a larger scale planning and policy level. At the local scale level of traffic intensive locations and the so-called street canyons, systematic research on the possible contribution of urban design and technological interventions to improve the air quality is lacking. Moreover, a group of pollutants under less public scrutiny, volatile organic carbon (VOC), are less susceptible to traffic regulations. The treatment of paving, walls and facades with a photocatalyst have proven to contribute to improve the air quality. However, in street canyons the airflow rates are often low for an optimal performance of these photocatalysts. Alterations of the urban design (that improve the air circulation and the integration of UV lightning) can seek VOC abatement in urban street canyons with minimized environmental burden. In conclusion, in terms of air quality on the level of street canyons, there exists a fundamental disciplinary schism between environmental and urban design sciences. Dealing with the spatial distribution of air pollution and high threshold to bridge technological innovation with urban planning, this research project aims to combine environmental and design sciences. Therefore, the Research group for Urban Development (Design Sciences), DuEL and BioGEM (Engineering Sciences) decided to team up to tackle together this pregnant challenge. The scientific challenge grasped in this project is threefold: (1) Understand the spatial and molecular distribution of VOC in urban environment, with focus on street canyons, (2) Maximize the effect of urban design changes to improve the health effects of street canyons by incorporating photocatalytic abatement technologies; (3) Formulate design guidelines for improvement of air quality in street canyons based on LCA metrics, and extrapolate the methodology to future technological improvements. Together these challenges constitute an opportunity to significantly lower the threshold for future developments to improve the health conditions in street canyons. Divided over four Work Packages and four years, this multidisciplinary approach of this challenge calls for a combination of methodologies, ranging from literature review, to research by design, over modelling and case study research. The Turnhoutsebaan in Antwerp is selected as case study, being representative for typical Flemish street canyons in terms of structural characteristics (length, height over width ratio), traffic density, demonstrated high air pollution levels and the availability (or lack) of green infrastructure." "Soil microplastic pollution - assessing, testing and reducing the risks on soil health" "Caroline De Tender" "Department of Biochemistry and microbiology" "While the effect of plastic in marine ecosystems has been studied extensively, the knowledge on microplastic (MP) pollution in soil ecosystems is limited. We do not know if MP pollution affects soil ecosystem functions such as plant growth, microbial biomass and water permeability. Fundamental insights in their role on soil and plant health are missing as well. In this project we will therefore advance the field by working in a three step approach to define how MP pollution outbalances the soil ecosystem. First, we will assess the risk of pollution by measuring MPs in soils (with a focus on lettuce, maize and strawberry cultivation). Second, we will use this information to set up greenhouse experiments to test the effects of the current pollution on plant growth and disease resistance, in which lettuce and strawberry will be used as model crops. In the end, we want to reduce the risk by screening for microplastic degrading microorganisms naturally present in the soil." "Crop water productivity and its modeling as a decision support tool for improved agricultural water management." "Dirk Raes" "Division of Soil and Water Management" "The planned research aims at (1) increasing the technical knowledge on sustainable water use in agriculture, (2) valorisering my PhD research with additional publications and at (3) applying the developed techniques of crop water productivity modeling to other ongoing research within the group (different crops and locations). For the latter purpose, the model AquaCrop from FAO will be used. The experience with the calibration of AquaCrop for the very drought resistant crop quinoa will facilitate this work for other crop-location combinations." "Water balance and water use efficiency of bioenergy culture of woody plants: a multiscalaire approach." "Reinhart Ceulemans" "Plant and Ecosystems (PLECO) - Ecology in a time of change" "This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the Flemish Public Service. UA provides the Flemish Public Service research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract." "Development of an active-passive sampling device for monitoring bioavailable pollutants in water." "Ronny Blust" "Toxicological Centre, Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research (SPHERE)" "Concentrations of metals (e.g. Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb Zn) and organic compounds (e.g. pesticides, flame retardants, pharmaceuticals) in aquatic ecosystems have been increasing in the last several decades as a result of urban spread, farming and industrial activities. Water monitoring programs are used to assess the quality of aquatic ecosystems and verify compliance with environmental quality standards. However, the use of inadequate tools for assessing pollutant concentrations in water often result in inaccurate evaluations of ecological risk. Current approaches used for water quality monitoring either measure the total concentration of a pollutant, which has shown to be a poor predictor of ecological risk, or make large use of organisms for biological testing. This proposal aims to create and test the technology required to develop a new generation of monitoring devices capable of measuring the fraction of pollutants present in the water that is relevant for ecological risk assessment, that is, the fraction of pollutants available for assimilation in the organism and that could potentially cause toxicity. This device will be practical to transport and use on site, and will be capable of autonomously measure a wide range of pollutants in water over long periods (from days to weeks). This will significantly reduce costs related to field work operations and laboratory analyses. The new technology will contribute to more robust and reliable water quality assessments." "Development of an active-passive sampling device for monitoring bioavailable pollutants in water." "Elvio Amato" "Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research (SPHERE)" "Concentrations of metals (e.g. Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb Zn) and organic compounds (e.g. pesticides, flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, POP) in aquatic ecosystems have been increasing in the last several decades as a result of urban spread, farming and industrial activities. Water monitoring programs are used to assess the quality of aquatic ecosystems and verify compliance with environmental quality standards. However, the use of inadequate tools for assessing pollutant concentrations in water often result in inaccurate evaluations of ecological risk. Current approaches used for water quality monitoring either measure the total dissolved concentration of a pollutant, which has shown to be a poor predictor of ecological risk, or make large use of organisms for biological testing. This proposal aims to create and test the technology required to develop a new generation of monitoring devices capable of measuring the fraction of pollutants present in the water that is relevant for ecological risk assessment, that is, the fraction of pollutants available for assimilation in the organism and that could potentially cause toxicity. This device will be practical to transport and use on site, and will be capable of autonomously measure a wide range of pollutants in water over long periods (from days to weeks). This will significantly reduce costs related to field work operations and laboratory analyses. The new technology will contribute to more robust and reliable water quality assessments."