Research projects

Currently there are more than 100 ongoing projects at the department. Some examples:

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Taking a piss? Or turning it into energy

Pee not only generates uncontrollable laughter in five-year-olds but energy as well. Niels van Linden is currently working on a concept to produce electricity from urban and industrial residual waters, which in turn will power the energy-neutral water treatment system he is hoping to develop.

Measuring flood risks the smart way

Dar es Salaam, a fast growing city on the coast of Tanzania, is faced with floods on a regular basis. Hydrologist Hessel Winsemius is gauging flood risks with the help of smart sensors, local people and local means.

Water with a barcode

How, and at what speed, do bacteria or chemical substances travel through groundwater or surface water? The tracer hydrologist Thom Bogaard has developed using synthetic DNA is putting him hot on their trail. ‘It’s a lot safer than working with real pollutants.’

The creepy crawlies that can save lives

Doris van Halem’s aim is to make drinking water safe and accessible to all. Not by adding expensive chemicals but by putting to work the tiny creatures already present in it. She is tackling the two health risks associated with contaminated drinking water which have been hardest to eradicate: arsenic poisoning and infectious diseases caused by viruses.

20,000 weather stations in Africa

In the next few decades, the worldwide demand for food is set to double. Africa and South-America look to be the main producers. But how can large-scale agriculture be achieved if there are no reliable data on the availability of water, when the rain is going to fall, and where?

Making dikes safer with acoustic fiber optic sensors

Playing a bass guitar on top of a dike. It’s not something you see a TU Delft scientist do every day. Yet this is exactly how post-doc Juan Aguilar-López tested his experiment on dike monitoring with the use of fiber optic cables. A technology which could greatly improve dike safety in the future.

Sensible sewer maintenance

A world without a sewer system is not really something anyone would wish to contemplate. Flooding, smelly streets, not to mention the absence of toilet facilities, would make life intolerable. With approximately 150,000 kilometres of waste pipes the Dutch sewage system is one of the country’s most important pieces of infrastructure. While maintenance is crucial it is also expensive.

Research projects

Brantas Water Quality

LotusHR

TWIGA

Global Drinking Water

Zero Brine

DOC2C’s

Sustainable freshwater supply for urbanizing Maputo

AdOx

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