The increasing waste of resources and the growing population makes it necessary to take measures to limit the environmental impact of human activities, and this also applies to the field of sanitary engineering. Our group deals with the study of all aspects of reducing environmental impact in both the water treatment and sludge and contaminated soil sectors. More specifically:
Application of environmentally friendly water and sludge treatment techniques
When it comes to water and sludge treatment, we often focus on evaluating only the performance aspects of the process in terms of pollutant removal while neglecting the environmental impact aspect. Our team works to apply techniques that reduce electricity consumption in water and sludge treatment plants, minimise the production of residues, reduce the overall production of climate-changing gases and reduce the impact of residues. All with view to treating water and sludge with limited environmental impact.
Assessment of climate-changing gas emissions from water and sewage sludge treatment
Sewage treatment plants are almost always associated solely with the removal of pollutants from water. While it is true that they perform the function of a 'last barrier' against pollutants before the effluent and other residues are released into the ecosystem, the aspect related to their production and emission of climate-changing gases is often overlooked. In fact, the emission, both direct and indirect, of greenhouse gases during water and sludge treatment operations, as well as during their transport and recovery/disposal, is considerable. Our team is able to assess the overall emission generated by each piece of the complex wastewater treatment system, highlighting the impact of choices, such as functional and plant up-grades, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
Assessment and remediation techniques for contaminated soils
The problem of environmental pollution with hazardous substances does not only concern air and water but also soil. The presence of contaminated soil can in turn be a 'pathway' for the contamination of other matrices, e.g. groundwater and thus water. For years, our group has been working on assessing the presence of pollutants in soils by predicting, from a case-by-case perspective, the most suitable remediation techniques based, for example, on the type of pollutant, the degree of contamination and the site location.