Projects

This projected is situated in the field of biological wastewater treatment and more specifically deals with the activated sludge (AS) process. Filamentous bulking due to the overgrowth of filamentous organisms has been generally reported as one of the most significant downsides of the AS process. In order to provide solutions for (waste)water practitioners, it is crucial to determine the type of these filamentous organisms and link their ...

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.

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 ...

This project aims to explore the basic principles of a decision support system that allows the continuous monitoring of the working conditions of seafarers. For this purpose, it wants to (1) measure several environmental parameters simultaneously (e.g., temperature, light, NO2, O3, etc.), (2) convert the measurements into a global air quality, and (3) visualize the evolution in air quality so that seafarers can easily evaluate the working ...

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 ...

Soot is considered to be the second-largest contributor to global excess radiative forcing after CO2 and deemed responsible for tripling the amount of premature deaths by 2060. We therefore propose a fundamental study to develop an efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of soot deposits, using (solar) light as the energy input. Photocatalytic oxidation is often achieved with TiO2 as the photoactive material. The main drawback of TiO2 is its ...

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) represents a true revolution in the field of biological wastewater treatment with significant advantages in comparison to conventional activated sludge, such as low energy use, small footprint, process efficiency, recovery of biopolymers & phosphorus...).The granulation process relies on the specific metabolism of carbon-storing bacteria, such as polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAO). The most intensively ...

Measuring air pollution by using strawberry plants The AIRbezen project is a clever word pun on the Flemish of Antwerp dialect word for strawberries (jarrebezen) and, obviously, the word air. By examining the leaves of strawberry plants, AIRbezen maps the air quality of a city or province. Strawberry plants are distributed among families, schools or associations, who give the plant a place on the windowsill. After 2 months the strawberry-hosts ...

In this project a scientific framework for assessing the particulate matter (PM) removal of urban green is developed. We aim at enhancing the insight in the several phenomena that occur at the level of plant surfaces in the presence of PM polluted air, and in the way meteorological, physiological and morphological (plant) parameters affect PM transport, deposition and resuspension. The methodology is based on (1) predictive computational models ...

By 2050, the global demand for nutritional protein will increase by about 50%. Yet, the boundaries of environmental sustainability are already severely trespassed in the traditional fertilizer-feed-food chain and in fish-meal based aquaculture. Around the world, researchers have taken up the quest for novel, sustainable protein foods. Recovering and recycling renewable resources from waste streams is one of the key steps to mitigate the ...