Internship Improving the anaerobic treatment of wastewater with high content of total suspended solids

Anaerobic digestion is a bioprocess in which organic matter is converted into biogas a mixture of methane carbon dioxide hydrogen sulfide and other gases. Currently anaerobic digestion offers a great potential for the treatment of several types of wastewaters including those coming from different industrial activities. The development of granular sludge anaerobic reactors such as the UASB EGSB or internal recirculation reactors boosted the application of anaerobic technology in the industrial sector.

However some characteristics in industrial wastewater hamper the process making it unsuitable for the use of granular sludge anaerobic reactors. A clear example is wastewater with high concentrations of total and volatile biodegradable suspended solids. Therefore it is important to determine new strategies and bioprocesses that boost application of anaerobic treatment in different types of industrial wastewater.

Your goal

The goal of this internship is to improve the anaerobic degradability of different types of industrial wastewaters with a high content of total suspended solids.

• Conducting a review of the different technologies and bioprocesses that can be applied.
Set up an experimental test plan.
Execute batch tests investigating the anaerobic digestion of selected substrates/wastewaters.
Make a technical and economical evaluation of the selected technologies.

Internship available from September 2024 onwards.

Who are you

• BSc or MSc Chemical (Bio)Process Civilor Environmental Engineering.
• Flexibility and indepence.
• Curious and analytical.
• Professional command of the English language in words and writing. Command of the Dutch language is desirable but not required.
• Minimum 4 months internship.

Working for us means

• An internship allowance of 350 per month based on fulltime employment.
• Possibility of a contract after your graduation.
• A buddy who will show you around in our organization.
• Reimbursement of travel expenses of 0.23 cents per km up to a maximum of 75 km if you live further than 10 km from our office and do not have an Ovcard.
• Learn from knowledgeable and dedicated people.
• Create impact and contribute to critical water challenges.
• Become part of an inclusive and collaborative culture.
• Contribute to sustainability.

As an intern from the Technology & Innovation department you will take on challenging and important projects along with Process Design Engineers and R&D engineers. You will run a project with your supervisor and a larger team located in Doetinchem and/or other locations (if applicable).

Join our #missionwater