Michael Urwin

• BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering
• Design smart polymer surfaces to promote efficiency of trickling filter wastewater treatment

With an increasing global population, there is a greater need for improving wastewater treatment. Clean water is crucial both for health and demand from industry. Wastewater treatment is facilitated by the use of filter materials which efficiently remove contaminants from wastewater. Trickling filters treat wastewater by flowing it through a bed of filter media (rocks or plastic) which accumulate thin, slime-like colonies of microorganisms, known as biofilms. Bacterial-surface attachment depends on several surface properties. This research aimed to investigate some of these properties through a series of experiments to understand how the design of plastic surfaces can control biofilm formation. Nylon samples were modified to different surface roughnesses and characterised using a range of probing equipment and microscopes. They were then placed in a real trickling filter for 28 days after which biofilm growth was investigated. Developments in wastewater filter design could lead to improved efficiency, cost and health benefits.

Funding source: Newcastle University

Supervisor: Dr Jinju Chen