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Project properties |
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| Title | Aqua Farm: research on aquatic organisms that purify wastewater and produce high-quality fabrics |
| Group | Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management Group |
| Project type | internship |
| Credits | 24-36 |
| Supervisor(s) | Lara Schuiijt, Piet Verdonschot (Wageningen Environmental Research)
Edwin Peeters (Wageningen University) |
| Examiner(s) | M Scheffer |
| Contact info | lara.schuijt@wur.nl or piet.verdonschot@wur.nl
(edwin.peeters@wur.nl) |
| Begin date | 2016/11/01 |
| End date | 2017/10/31 |
| Description | Internship or Thesis.
Effluent from sewage treatment plants (STPs) is discharged into surface waters which causes pollution (including high nutrient levels) of aquatic ecosystems. The project 'aqua farm' takes another angle to purify waste water by using flora and fauna that also produces as much as possible high-quality fabrics (such as proteins, amino acids and pharmaceuticals). The concept is based on principles taken from the nature in order to grow organisms under controlled conditions in different water compartments (as if it were components of a food web). By connecting all compartments and thus organisms, in a smart way, we want to imitate the natural purification capacity of freshwater ecosystems. For example, there may be a compartment with mussels, which filter the water and take up particles out of it, that is connected to a compartment with water plants which then remove nutrients from the water. In short, in each compartment plants or animals grow, extract wastewater of a particular substance and simultaneously produce at least one high-quality fabric. In the project we are trying to find out which macroinvertebrates (such as mussels, sponges, worms) can grow in and on the effluent from sewage treatment plants, and how they contribute to the purification of the effluent. We are looking for an MSc student who can independently perform experiments with e.g. mussels. There are opportunities for experiments in both the laboratory and in the field. Furthermore, having a driver's license is necessary, and because work is done with waste water you must become vaccinated against DTP and hepatitis A. The student can start immediately. |
| Used skills | |
| Requirements | lab skills, drivers license |