Cranfield University is involved with three projects recently awarded funding from Ofwat’s Innovation Fund Water Breakthrough Challenge. Winning a share of £42 million in funding, the projects will focus on solutions to some of the water sector’s biggest challenges.
Photo courtesy Thames Water: SandSCAPE skimmer
Converting biogas to energy
Led by United Utilities and involving Ruben Sakrabani, Professor of Soil Chemistry, the Next-Gen Digestion project was awarded £5.1 million to enable water companies to generate additional biogas. This is a gas product from the breakdown of organic matter during wastewater treatment, reducing the volume of residual biosolids (treated sludge).
The project aims to convert biogas into energy, which can be used by water companies to power treatment processes, reducing operational costs whilst investigating the impact of digestate on soil health.
Nature-based solution for cleaning water
SandSCAPE, led by Thames Water, was awarded £2 million to test operator guided robots, up to five metres in length, that make chemical-free ‘slow sand filtration’ more efficient.
Slow sand filtration is a highly effective nature-based solution for cleaning water. However the need to regularly stop and drain the sand filters makes the process inefficient and this is what the project team will be tackling.
Dr Francis Hassard, Reader in Public Health Microbiology, is involved in the project which will trial underwater cleaning of sand filters by robots, whilst the filters are in operation.
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.
“SAS (Surplus Activated Sludge) is a bit weird and 
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