Research internship*: Application of ferrate (VI) for the removal of organic micropollutants

Internship

40 hrs/week

Compensation

*Graduation project possible when extended by desk study

Are you ready to make an impact in water technology? Join CEW and help wastewater treatment plants meet the EU’s stricter purity standards. You’ll work hands-on to optimize processes, experimenting with ferrate to remove harmful micropollutants from municipal wastewater.

As part of our team, you’ll tackle real-world challenges in an innovative environment, gaining valuable experience while contributing to a cleaner future. We’re looking for curious, creative students
with the drive to learn and excel. A graduation project is possible when extended by a desk study.

Ready to dive in? Apply now and join the mission for cleaner water!

Your profile

• You study Chemical Engineering, Chemistry or
• Environmental Engineering and have affinity to topics related to water
• You are organized and can structure your work well
• You work independently
• You are open to receive feedback
• You are committed to the project
• You have good analytical skills (data processing and interpretation)
• You have good communication skills, both oral and in writing

Your responsibilities

• Get familiar with the previous work done on using ferrate (VI) and UV to break down micropollutants and based on that plan your experiments in agreement with project partners (CEW, Wetterskip, Ferr-Tech)
• Execute lab-scale advanced oxidation tests
• Process and interpret the results
• Communicate with project partners about (partial) research outcomes

About the project

On 26 October 2023 European Union (EU) presented a proposal for a new, updated Urban Wastewater
Treatment Directive (UWWTD). Article 8 of this document “introduces the obligation to apply additional
treatment to urban wastewater in order to eliminate the broadest possible spectrum of micro-pollutants”
which means that in the future municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) will be required to
achieve ≥ 80% removal of at least six of the so-called “guideline substances” listed in the table below.

Introduction of the new directive provides extra motivation for the Dutch water authorities to investigate
various micropollutant removal methods. One of them is advanced oxidation of the WWTP effl uent. In this context, Wetterskip Fryslân is interested in testing the feasibility of using the combination of ferrate (VI) and UV to break down micropollutants.

Enthusiastic? Send an email to studenten@cew.nl with the subject ‘Internship placement’ or ‘Graduation placement’ and tell us why you want to do an internship or graduate at the CEW. For more information, please contact Maarten Trilsbeek on telephone number +31 58 210 09 19.