b'Case Study INNOVATIONS IN WASTEWATER TREATMENTAssisting the academic community to find the rightIn the 9-month IAA, the team successfully trained the SCP industrial partner using the library of images provided by Veolia, and after optimising the parameters, the SCP was then used to The Wastewater treatment (WWT) market is estimatedassess unseen microscopy images of the sludge as either to be worth over $300bn worldwide, yet globally 44%healthy or unhealthy with an accuracy of up to 85%. of municipal wastewater is not treated safely, with upThey are currently exploring funding options to develop to 2.3bn people not having access to basic sanitation.this technology further. Recent news reports about sewage release into the UKs waterways have highlighted several grand challengesUnderstanding the microbial generation of nitrous associated with this process. Researchers at theoxide in WWT University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with Veolia UK, have been investigating three strands of researchNitrous oxide (N 2 O) is generated as a microbial metabolic helping to address this. Dr Gavin Melaugh, Professorby-product in nitrogen-removal processes in WWT.It Cait MacPhee, Dr Efthalia Chatzisymeon, Dr Ryan Morrisis ~300 times more potent than CO 2and is the main and PhD students Anne-Maelle Penot and Holly Bridgecontributor to ozone depletion. As a result of regulatory are working on these projects in collaboration with Paulpressure, there is now a need for WWT companies to Banfield, Technical Operations Manager at Veolia UK. develop methods to detect N 2 O, as well as understand how the microbes can be manipulated in order to reduce Understanding how filamentous cells impactits release into the atmosphere. As a result, Veolia have flocculation in activated sludge (AS) sponsored a PhD studentship (Anne-Maelle Penot) in collaboration with the School of Physics and Astronomy In collaboration with Veolia and ETH Zurich, researchersand the School of Engineering at the University of have performed a systematic study on the activatedEdinburgh in order to develop an understanding of N 2 O-sludge bacteria Comamonas denitrificans to understandgenerating bacteria in WWT. how bacterial cell length impacts connectivity in aggregating suspensions of cells. This work was initiatedDr Gavin Melaugh said, by an NBIC Proof of Concept award and the team now have a new PhD student (Holly Bridge) developing theThe initial funding from the NBIC Proof of Concept research further through agent-based modelling.award was crucial in seeding the teams now long-term collaboration with Veolia UK.Developing the Sludge Characterisation Platform (SCP) There has been little modernisation in WWT over the last 100 years. For example, in this era of sophisticated software, e.g., AI, sludge health is still assessed by periodic visualisation of WWT samples under the microscope and relies heavily on the expertise of the operator. In collaboration with Veolia, Dr Melaugh and his team were awarded an Impact Acceleration Award (IAA) to develop the Sludge Characterisation PlatformFoam forming on the aeration tank in Veolias Newbridge WWT facility. (SCP); a machine learning tool for AS health. The foam is caused by the proliferation of filamentous organisms.Dr Gavin Melaugh Dr Gavin Melaugh is a Chancellors Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, joint appointed between the School of Physics and Astronomy and the School of Engineering. He leads a group that uses a combination of experiments, microscopy, and computer simulations to understand the collective behaviour of microorganisms in the natural environment and in biotechnological processes. Dr Melaugh has been a core team member of NBIC since its formation in 2017.52'