Simon Müller

Profile

Simon was born in Germany, where he studied Environmental Engineering (BSc) at the University of Stuttgart. During his BSc studies he had the opportunity to visit Utrecht University, Faculty of Geosciences for one year as part of the ERASMUS programme. He stayed at Utrecht University for two more years to study Environmental Geochemistry (MSc Earth Sciences). After his graduation, he worked for two years at Evides water company in Rotterdam before joining TU Delft as a PhD researcher in April 2020.

Project title: RedOx Filter
Start date project: 01-04-2020
Expected end date: 31-03-2024
Keywords research project: groundwater, filtration, iron, manganese, ammonium, drinking water

Funding institutions: NWO, Vitens & Dunea
In cooperation with TU Delft Faculty of Applied Sciences Biotechnology, Waterleiding Maatschappij Limburg, RoyalHaskoningDHV, ThalesWater

Gaining mechanistic understanding of iron and manganese removal mechanisms during rapid sand filtration of groundwater.
Demonstration of new concepts for design and operation of groundwater filters.

Groundwater is the drinking water source for at least half of the world population. Deep groundwater does not contain pathogens, but can naturally contain iron and manganese, which should be removed for aesthetic (acceptance) and operational reasons (clogging of pipes & pumps), but for manganese also because of negative health effects. A widely used treatment technique for groundwater is aeration followed by rapid sand filtration: the water is brought in contact with oxygen and flows through a layer of sand. In the sand layer, physical processes combined with biological and chemical redox processes remove iron and manganese, producing clear drinking water. However, the different mechanisms of iron and manganese removal in sand filters are still poorly understood, making their design difficult and their operation often inefficient.

In the RedOx filter project, we aim to understand the fundamental mechanisms controlling their removal and to use these insights to develop new design concepts for groundwater filtration. This knowledge will help us to improve groundwater treatment around the world and has implications for the removal of toxic groundwater contaminants such as arsenic.

Fundamental insights into (bio)chemical redox processes of Fe and Mn.