On Monday 22 May 2023, members of the Department of Engineering Physics, from Region North and Department of Land Use and Water Management visited the water technology institute Wetsus in Leeuwarden.

The institute focuses on research on every conceivable aspect of water in our living environment. Universities and companies are invited to use its facilities for research that typically takes shape in the form of PhD projects. Pilot projects can evolve into startups, after which Wetsus can then initiate new projects.

Doekle Yntema, theme coordinator of Smart Water Grids, gave an introduction to Wetsus' mission and outlined some of the institute's many research themes.

Examples include research on removal of undesirable substances from surface water, groundwater technology, desalination for drinking water, study of flow patterns and of energy generation methods.

Ruben Halfwerk talked about his PhD research, almost completed, on recovering still useful and usable components in waste streams in the dairy industry: waste streams still full of milk sugar-lactose.

PhD student Mirvahid Mohammadpour Chehrghani is studying means of reducing resistance in water pipes in the water grid, and thus saving energy, through clever application of surface properties known in nature, for example to the skin of sharks.

The institute has a variety of focused laboratories mainly in the physical, chemical and biological fields. Certain rooms working with viruses or biologically active substances are of course shielded. It was nice to see a working test set-up of Blue Energy. The project has now been handed over to commercial partners. At the Afsluitdijk, one challenge is to prevent clay in the water from clogging up membranes and, for example, preventing the growth of mussels on the membranes.

More information can be found at www.wetsus.nl.

Water gives life, without water no life

KIVI's Department of Technical Physics is organising a visit to the Wetsus Institute in Leeuwarden, a leader in research on all aspects of water in our environment, such as water purification, climate, algae formation, currents and energy generation.

Wetsus works closely with universities and companies and facilitates research on projects where water plays a dominant role.

Understanding ongoing projects and visiting some experimental set-ups are the objectives of this visit to Wetsus.

Programme:

13.30 h Reception with coffee and tea

14.00 h Welcome by KIVI

14.05 h Presentation Wetsus

15.00 Hour Laboratory tour

15.45 Hour Closing with a drink

Wetsus, European centre of excellence for sustainable water technology

Information: www.wetsus.nl

New positions: https://phdpositionswetsus.eu/