The Baden-Württemberg Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Sector works with the E.U. Commission to implement the funding for the "Bio-Ab-Cycling" program, and the goal of the program is to demonstrate the feasibility of biorefineries to recover raw materials from waste and wastewater the government's sustainable development goals.
EBI’s wastewater research is also supported by cooperation with Klärwerk Karlsruhe, the local wastewater treatment plant of Karlsruhe. The Karlsruhe wastewater treatment plant often gives wastewater to E.B.I. to use in our reactors for our experiments. I had the opportunity to join one of the classes taught at E.B.I. on their trip to visit the plant. The Karlsruhe wastewater treatment is the second largest sewage treatment plant in Baden-Württemberg, and the treated water from the plant empties into the Rhine River. After World War II, the Rhine River became incredibly polluted from industrial waste. Cities in Niederrhein (Lower Rhine region) and in the Netherlands use the Rhine for drinking water, so legislatures took action to regulate the water quality of the Rhine River. As regulations, technology, and the environment continued to change over time, so did the processes used at the Klärwerk Karlsruhe to remove waste, excess nutrients, and harmful compounds from water effectively and cost-efficiently before it is discharged into the Rhine.
The tour stopped by each stage of the treatment system, starting with the removal of large mineral particles, phosphate (a phosphorus nutrient) and grease. The next stage was a biological purification staturns nitrate (a nitrogen nutrient) into nitrogen gas.
