PhosForUs - Piloting biofilm system to remediate polluted waters
Phosphorus pollution is the key limiting factor behind eutrophication and harmful algae blooms (HABs). HABs can cause ecosystem collapse, contaminate drinking water with cyanotoxins, and cost millions in losses every year to fisheries, recreation, tourism and municipal utilities. The difficulty in addressing phosphorus pollution stems from its ubiquity in fertilizers and in stormwater runoff, which evades removal in wastewater treatment plants, and current strategies to remove it from eutrophic lakes depends on dosing with aluminum sulfate, which represents its own sustainability and logistical issues.
To address this issue, our lab has developed a biofilm system that leverages naturally occurring phosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) to selectively absorb phosphate from polluted waters, and release it into a separate recovery solution. The efficacy of the system has been demonstrated at lab scale, and is poised for a large scale pilot-demonstration in the summer of 2025.
The student participating in this project will assist with the construction and deployment of the large scale pilot and sampling of polluted and treated waters and the recovery solution. Techniques learned will include the use of ionic chromatography, colorimetric testing, and the use of electrodes and probes to test for phosphorus, nitrogen, organic carbon, and pH, for example. The job will also involve manual work to assemble the system, building the piping, and troubleshooting the reactor. There are no strict requirements for prior experience with any of these, but the position requires high level of autonomy, teamwork and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to perform activities independently after initial training.
This project is a great example of applied and translational research: a small graduate project at the lab scale investigating a metabolic pathway in biofilms, that showed promise to become a new technology to be widely implemented and is now in the scaling phase. The project will treat real polluted waters at UMass, starting off with secondary effluent from the wastewater treatment plant as a proof of concept and scale, with expansion plans directed at remediating the pond. This differs from most basic-research projects and represents a pretty rare opportunity to catch a new technology right as it leaves the lab to be shown applied to the real world, and is a great peek at the world of R&D and innovation.
The student will come in contact with the innovation programs and initiatives behind this project, as well as the professional associations it pertains to, including but not limited to: NSF iCorps, UMass Venture Development programs, the Water Environment Federation, etc.
Lastly, this project is just fun to work on. There's a good mix of indoor and outdoor work, the reactor building part is great for anyone who loves tinkering, it's super interesting and rewarding to work on a system that will be applied to real life. I promise we are all very friendly people. Though this position is specific for the summer, there is the option to stay on the project through the semester for independent study.
Now you tell me: what do you want to do with your career, and what is your relationship with water and the environment? (Word limit: 300 words)