Intern in “treatment of secondary effluent and its effect on nanofiltration performance”

Project background

Nanofiltration (NF) is gaining increasing attention as a key technology in the production of high-quality water from treated wastewater. However, its long-term performance and selectivity can be significantly influenced by the quality of the feed water. Goal of this project is to investigate the effect of different pre-treatment methods on the performance of a hollow fiber nanofiltration membrane in the treatment of secondary effluent from a source-separated wastewater treatment plant (greywater) in The Netherlands. 

Research Description
In this internship project, you will work with a laboratory-scale setup already installed at Wetsus. The NF units will be operated over an extended period to assess their long-term stability, selectivity, and overall performance.

The focus will be on:

• Operating and optimizing different pretreatment units
• Running nanofiltration experiments and monitoring membrane performance in relation to the quality of the treated water produced by different pretreatments
• Evaluating system stability under different operational conditions

Your tasks:

• Assist with operation and optimisation of pretreatment and NF units
• Prepare samples for water quality analyses (conventional wastewater parameters, ion composition, organic micropollutants)
• Participate in pilot plant sampling and sample preparation
• Data analysis

Your profile:

BSc or MSc student with background in one of the following fields:

• (Bio)process/chemical engineering,
• Environmental sciences,
• Water technology,
• Or related fields
• Experience with laboratory work
• A valid driving license is considered a plus
• Enrolment in an EU university, for non-EU residents, enrolment in a Dutch university is obligatory

Benefits:

• Experience with setting up and running experiments
• Hands-on experience in various analytical techniques (water analysis)
• Understanding of membrane processes
• Data analysis and reporting skills
• Experience working in an international research environment