is one component in a wastewater biorefinery at the University of Stuttgart. A biorefinery is a system that treats wastewater and, during the treatment process, converts organic matter in the waste into higher value products. The biorefinery is a larger collaborative project between several research institutions, known as the “KoalAplan” project. The goal of the KoalAplan is to engineer and implement the biorefinery to convert organic compounds efficiently from municipal wastewater into fertilizers, bioplastics and hydrogen gas.
The biorefinery is connected to a teaching and research sewage treatment plant. This wastewater is sourced from homes, businesses and industries in the Stuttgart area. The treatment plant is unique because it is the only treatment plant in Europe that is owned by a university institute, namely the Institute for Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality and Solid Waste Management (ISWA) at the University of Stuttgart. Because the plant is owned by the university, students have the unique opportunity to conduct experiments, test new technologies and evaluate the treatment processes. Before the Fulbright program, I had only visited a real wastewater treatment plant once before during a trip for my high school AP environmental science class. That visit inspired me to pursue a career in water treatment research, so it was serendipitous to help set up an M.E.C. at the biorefinery.
The KoalAplan biorefinery is one of five biorefineries that is funded by a European Regional Development Fund (E.R.D.F.) program, called “Bio-Economy Bio-Ab-Cycling" (ab in German meaning “up”, as in “up-cycling”). E.R.D.F. is a fund from the European Union (E.U.) that supports projects that advance economic, territorial and social cohesion within the E.U.
