Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTSEU Regulation 2020/741 has regulated the agricultural reuse of treated wastewater in a standardized manner since June 2023. To protect health, it defines minimum microbiological requirements, that can only be achieved through targeted disinfection. However, the concentration of indicator organisms can currently only be monitored using cultural methods in the laboratory, which means that it usually takes at least two days for the important faecal indicator E. coli, for example, to be detected. In order to close this control gap, a measuring system for near-real-time detection of both E. coli concentration and cell viability is to be developed in “Ecoplas”.
The work of Fraunhofer IKTS focuses on the design, construction, testing and validation of the plasmonic sensor unit for the online measurement system. This sensor unit is the core of the analytical system and consists of a nanostructured gold surface, which is embedded in a microfluidic and electronic system. Both the E. coli bacteria count and their viability are measured in combination on the gold surface.
The measuring system is implemented as a device that can be used on site with miniaturized detector electronics and automated fluidic processes. Applications in the reuse of wastewater for agricultural irrigation and water monitoring are tested in demo measurement campaigns and accompanied by user dialogs. In this way, the reuse of treated wastewater can be ensured on site after needs-based and resource-saving disinfection. The project thus makes a significant contribution to protecting the increasingly scarce resource »water«, in particular groundwater and surface water, which has to be used more frequently for irrigation purposes due to climate change.
Funding body: Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space
Funding reference: 13N17083
Project period: 1.11.204-31.10.2027
Project partner:
- Abwasserverband Braunschweig
- dresden electronik ingenieurtechnik GmbH
- ECH Elektrochemie Halle GmbH (Projektleitung)
- Emscher Wassertechnik GmbH
- GeSiM – Gesellschaft für Silizium-Mikrosysteme mbH
- Institut für Hygiene und Public Health / Universitätsklinikum Bonn
- Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE) GmbH
- Emschergenossenschaft/Lippeverband (assoz. Partner)
- Xylem Services GmbH (assoz. Partner)