Online biomonitoring systems in wastewater treatment plants, FHNW School of Life Sciences

Wastewater treatment plants are significant sources of surface water micropollutants of municipal or industrial origin. To solve this problem, an upgrade of Swiss WWTP with advanced treatment technologies has recently been initiated. Currently, most WWTP investigations are time-limited. However, wastewater is dynamic and its composition can change at short notice, especially in the case of complex industrial dischargers.

In collaboration with the Ecotox centre and Eawag we are therefore looking into the potential of online biomonitors for continuous wastewater monitoring. Online biomonitors are interesting for such continuous online monitoring, because organisms (e.g. stream fleas) are used as sensors and besides the effect of mixtures, unknown toxic substances can also be detected.