Our close links with the water industry means that we play a central role in the development of innovations through to application and use. This is nowhere better demonstrated than by our collaboration with the sector through the Ofwat Innovation Fund. The fund aims to grow the water sector’s capacity to innovate, enabling it to better meet the evolving needs of customers, society and the environment.

Details of some of the projects we are involved in can be found below.

Converting biogas to energy

Anaerobic digestion is a proven technology to stabilise solids produced during wastewater treatment. Led by United Utilities and involving Ruben Sakrabani, Professor of Soil Chemistry, the Next-Gen Digestion project has been awarded £5.1 million to enable water companies to generate additional biogas from these digestion processes. Biogas is converted into energy which can be used to power treatment processes, so this widely applicable innovation could significantly reduce operational costs.

Robotics for maintaining important drinking water treatment assets

Slow sand filtration is a nature-based chemical free drinking water technology which is in need of modernisation. However the need to regularly stop and drain the sand filters makes the process inefficient. The £2m SandSCAPE project, led by Thames Water, will test operator guided underwater robots, up to five metres in length, which skim the surface of the sand filter and remove algae, whilst they remain full of water. This will improve efficiency and resilience, benefiting customers and the environment. Cranfield’s Dr Francis Hassard, Reader in Public Health Microbiology, undertook some of the foundational science and engineering behind the project’s design and is involved in project delivery.

Faster, cheaper, sustainable removal of ‘forever chemicals’

The removal of PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals’, is a crucial issue in the water sector. A new project called Microwave Reactivation of Granular Activated Carbon, led by Severn Trent, has been awarded £1.9 million to create a faster, cheaper and more sustainable approach for dealing with this challenging family of pollutants. Developing an industrial-scale microwave solution, powered by renewable energy, the project promises to meet the demand for Granular Activated Carbon to remove PFAS without increasing carbon emissions. Dr Irene Carra and Peter Jarvis, Professor of Water Science and Technology, add their expertise to the project.

Innovative coagulant free phosphorus removal technology

Options for phosphorus removal from wastewater remain limited. Most utilities use coagulants leading to high chemical use, high Greenhouse Gas emissions, sludge production, combined with significant supply chain risks. New-found research has shown that is possible to remove and recover phosphorus as biologically induced mineral (bio-struvite) using biocatalysts with selected bacteria in a continuous reactor. The project, led by Cranfield’s Prof Ana Soares, aims to optimise this sustainable technology leading to a wider implementation by the UK water industry.

Organics Ammonia Recovery

Led by Northumbrian Water and involving Cranfield’s Prof. Ewan Mcadam, the Organics Ammonia Recovery project will convert ammonia recovered from wastewater to generate green hydrogen fuel. Traditional wastewater treatments are energy-intensive and only produce nitrogen which, though harmless, wastes the intrinsic value in ammonia. The project’s novel approach will contribute to the government’s green gas and renewable fuel agenda, accelerate the water industry’s journey to net carbon zero, improve the ecological status of rivers and test whether waste can not only be treated but also recovered to add value.

Catalysing a NET-ZERO future

One of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from the water industry is nitrous oxide – 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. It’s produced by bacteria that plays a vital role in removing toxic ammonia from wastewater. If ammonia isn’t removed, it damages aquatic life. Recently researchers have identified naturally occurring bacteria that can remove ammonia without producing nitrous oxide but these don’t ordinarily thrive in treatment plants. Led by Severn Trent Water and drawing on the expertise of Cranfield’s Prof. Ana Soares, this project will develop innovative techniques for capturing these game-changing bacteria and putting them to work in our existing treatment processes.

ALL-Streams HTO

In recent years, the water industry has faced a seemingly growing level of concern about its approach to land application of bioresources. To move to an alternative, there needs to be a thorough understanding, through scenario testing and technology evaluation, of the most feasible alternatives. Led by Anglian Water and involving Cranfield’s Prof. Bruce Jefferson, this project will explore the value proposition of Hydrothermal Oxidation (HTO) as an alternative bioresource strategy for the water industry in England & Wales. As an alternative to sludge-to-land, HTO would reduce or eliminate agricultural pollution risk, reduce energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions, whilst also reducing road transport resulting in lower costs and further greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Proving the concept of sewage sludge pyrolysis

Led by Thames Water, this project brings together Cranfield University and a consortium of industry partners to deliver the first continuously operating sludge-fed UK based demonstration plant. Dr Stuart Wagland, Reader in Energy and Environmental Chemistry, is Cranfield’s academic lead for the project. Addressing the need for the UK water sector to diversify the way in which sewage sludge is managed, the project seeks to prove the concept of pyrolysis – an advanced thermal conversion technology – to recycle sludge and maximise the value of biosolids.

Net Zero Hub

This ground-breaking project draws together a large group of experts, including Cranfield’s Prof. Ana Soares, and is universally supported by UK and Irish water companies plus international support from Aarhus Vand and Melbourne Water. The project will transform a large, carbon intensive Wastewater Treatment Plant into the world’s first retro-fit carbon neutral site. Innovative suppliers are developing technologies to reduce, remove and avoid carbon. The work will integrate the most promising technologies on one site for the first time – creating the ‘Net-Zero hub’ – trialing them at scale to deliver a blueprint for water companies to retro-fit their wastewater treatment plants to achieve their 2030 Net-Zero commitments.