Funding:

project management / project work:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Ernst / M. Langer

Situation:

The ACR-Tech project was granted within the „PPP-IKYDA 2016“ call of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). IKYDA is a bilateral scientific fundig measurement of DAAD and the Greec State Scholarship Foundation (I.K.Y.) with the objective to support cooperation between Greec and German research groups, especially between young academics.

Since March 2016, there is a lively exchange with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki about the removal of arsenic and chromium from groundwater.

• Investigate innovative technological approaches for efficient arsenic and chromium removal from groundwaters coupled with filtration / membrane filtration
• Monitor such innovative treatment lab pilots for long term (several months) and evaluate their practical applicability, especially with emphasis to the low energy, low cost, low maintenance and operational requirements
• Promote mobility, training and specialization of young academics
• Initiate a closer collaboration for future joint research projects

Funding:

project management / project work:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Ernst / M. Usman, M.Sc.

Situation:

The fine fractions of GEH and other adsorbents are used for arsenic removal from drinking water in adsorption-membrane hybrid system at various operation conditions. In hybrid system the entire treatment activity (such as adsorption, liquid-solid separation, and sludge accumulation and withdrawal) will be carried out in a single unit. The results will be compared with known transport models (homogeneous surface diffusion model) and, if necessary, model adjustments will be carried out. Model predictions will be based on adsorption equilibrium and kinetic parameters determined from isotherm and batch experiments, respectively.

Projektbearbeitung:

Margarethe Langer

Problemstellung:

Die Forschungs- und Entwicklungsvorhaben dieser Fördermaßnahme werden durch ein wissenschaftliches Koordinierungsvorhaben (WK INIS) begleitet. Ziele und Aufgaben sind dabei:

• Die Durchführung der Öffentlichkeitsarbeit, wie Internetpräsenz, Informationsbroschüren, Newslettern, Flyern, und Pressmitteilungen.
• Die Vernetzung der Verbundforschungsvorhaben und die Unterstützung des Informationsfluss, insbesondere zu projektübergreifenden Querschnittsthemen.
• Die Organisation von projektübergreifenden Workshops und Statuskonferenzen.
• Die Information der Fachöffentlichkeit über die Fördermaßnahme und ihre Ergebnisse.
• Die Vorstellung von Forschungsergebnissen im Rahmen des bestehenden Bildungsangebots von Difu, DVGW und DWA.
• Die Einbringung der Forschungsergebnisse in das einschlägige Regelwerk.
• Die Unterstützung der Überführung von Forschungsergebnissen in die Anwendung und praktische Umsetzung.

Project management / project work:

Dr. Bernd Bendinger / Dipl.-Biol. Thomas Meier

Situation:

Long term experiments are performed in two close-to-practice test rigs simulating a household drinking water installation under varying operational conditions (temperature, pipe materials, DOC, nutrient supply). After autochthonous drinking water biofilms have been contaminated with P. a. and L. p. a cleaning procedure and prevalent disinfection procedures are performed. Biofilm and drinking water samples will be analyzed with standard and molecular methods (FISH, qPCR) after contamination and disinfection, in order to quantify the bacteria in their culturable and/or their nonculturable VBNC state. The goal is to define cleaning and disinfection measures for drinking water installations that can ensure an enduring hygienic safety because the cells in the VBNC state will also be inactivated. Thereby the unrecognized distribution of pathogens inside drinking water installations can be prevented and the risk of infection for the consumer can be minimized.

see project homepage

Executive Summary

Funding:

project management / project work:

M. Langer

Situation:

As Cr(VI) does not precipitate readily, chemical reduction followed by precipitation is a widely used technique for Cr(VI) removal. The resulting Cr(III) has low solubility in water and can either be precipitated as Cr(III) hydroxide or adsorbed on iron hydroxides and subsequently being removed from water through filtration. However, in this treatment process the role of natural organic matter has rarely been investigated and is not sufficiently understood. As a result the removal of Cr(VI) from natural organic containing ground water is a delicate task, especially if low concentration of total chromium are targeted.

Funding:

Project management / project work:

Dr.-Ing. Barbara Wendler, Jakob Kämmler

Situation:

Many groundwaters exhibit a coloration caused by organic components due to regional deposits of peat or lignite sands in the aquifers.

• The coloration of drinking water is limited by German Drinking Water Ordinance (spectral absorption coefficient, SAC436 = color, < 0.5 m-1).
• Though increased coloration by humic substances is typically non-hazardous, it might cause aesthetic problems, leading to complaints by consumers.
• Increased concentrations of humic substances are undesired, as they increase the bioavailability of the DOC and may be initiators in the formation of disinfection by-products.
• Groundwaters with high coloration values are typically anaerobic and contain high concentrations of iron and manganese.  Presence of organic components in water may negatively affect removal of iron and manganese

Currently, the DVGW set of rules does not contain any information on process selection to achieve decolorization in the context of groundwater treatment, in a sustainable and cost-efficient manner.

Both in the laboratory and at selected waterworks sites, three technologies (flocculation / precipitation, oxidation, adsorption) are examined for their decolorization efficiency and the respective performance limits. As an innovative method, ozonation with downstream biofiltration is used. This technique is used almost exclusively in surface waters for other treatment purposes (disinfection, odorants, pre-flocculation). Ozone selectively attacks chromophoric molecules and is therefore well suited for decolorization. In contrast to other technologies, no residues (sludge, concentrates) are generated. However, questions about the resulting DOC bioavailability and the formation of bromate depending on technical parameters and water quality have to be answered.

The participating water suppliers offer access to their plants and previous experience in dealing with the problem. Thus, the application possibilities and limitations of the considered methods become clear.

The evaluation of the results of the analyzed treatment processes is carried out with the aim of developing recommendations for action in the DVGW set of rules, as well as minimizing the use of energy and chemicals and the entire life cycle costs.

project management / project work:

Dr. B. Bendinger / Dr. A. Höckendorf

Situation:

In this project decalcification procedures with organic acids and their impact on water quality are investigated in a mobile drinking water facility.

In mobile drinking water facilities, e.g. on board of aircrafts, fuelling of water with different scaling potentials and heating of the water in the kitchen may lead to partially strong scale deposits. This causes constrictions in water distribution, breakdown of devices for hot water production, and finally an off time of the transport vehicle, when the whole facility has to be decalcified. Conventionally, for decalcification of the potable water system organic acids like acetic acid or citric acid are used. Thereby, the risk of microbial growth arises because bacteria are able to utilize not completely rinsed acid as a food source and consequently their growth is promoted.

For comparable conditions in the decalcification experiments a special facility had been built. Herein pipes can be calcified under defined conditions resulting in reproducible solid calcite deposits in stainless steel tubes.

In a true-to-original mobile drinking water facility these calcified pipes are decalcified with acids in various concentrations and subsequently rinsed with potable water. Afterwards, the facility is operated with a flow-stagnation-program and the water phase is examined under operation conditions in the following weeks. Diverse chemical and microbiological parameters are analyzed including total and dissolved organic carbon (TOC and DOC), calcium carbonate precipitation potential (Dc), total cell count, and colony counts at 20 °C and 36 °C according to the german drinking water directive 1990.

The aim of this study is to find an optimized decalcification procedure which provides a more efficient decalcification performance without microbial regrowth after restart of operation. The existing decalcification instruction will be critically examined and evaluated and in addition recommendations for decalcification will be developed.

Figure 1: (A) Calcified pipes, such as those used for decalcification, (B) pipes after decalcification

project management / project work:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. K. Wichmann / Dr.-Ing. Michael Plath

Situation:

Systematic assessment of the energy performance, in collaboration with 14 participating water utilities with approximately 40 water works, allows to determine real operating data. Drawn up together with the catalog of energy saving potentials energy savings can be identified and recommendations can be established. For each water company, there will be a catalog with specific recommendations generated. The participating water companies will ensure that the development of the system is practical and at the same time during the project they achieve better knowledge of energy balances and savings in their own company.

Funding:

BWB - Berliner Wasserbetriebe AöR
HWW - Hamburger Wasserwerke GmbH

Project management / project work:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Ernst / Dr.-Ing. M. Beck

Situation:

DVGW Research Institute at TUHH is coordinating the research and development project. Goals and tasks are:

• data collection, preparation of energy audits und planning of measures for energy saving,
• implementation of measures and monitoring success,
• presentation of results and development of recommendations of action.

European Community
10th European Development Fund: ACP-EU Water Facility

Applicant:

Implemented partner 1:

Implemented partner 2:

Beneficiary partner:

Supporting partner:

Hamburger Wasserwerke GmbH (HWW), Germany

DVGW-Forschungsstelle TUHH (DVGW-TUHH), Germany

Consulaqua Hamburg Beratungsgesellschaft, Germany

Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA), Rwanda

Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Rwanda

Project management / project work:

Dr. Christoph Czekalla (HWW) / Dr. Bernd Bendinger (DVGW-TUHH)

Situation:

Funding:

Project management / project work:

Prof. Andreas Tiehm (TZW), Dr. Bernd Bendinger / Anne-Madeleine Trimbach, Dorota Bruniecka-Sulewski

Situation:

Flow cytometry (FCM) is a powerful method for the quantification of all bacteria in a water sample (total cell count, TCC). After staining with a DNA-specific fluorescent dye every single cell is excited by a laser beam and its light scattering and fluorescence intensity is detected by optical sensors. The combination of different signals gives a specific fingerprint of a water sample showing e.g. the proportion of small cells with a low DNA content (LNA) to big cells with a high DNA (HNA) content.

The measurement of a TCC takes only a few minutes. In contrast culture methods detect only 0.01 to 0.1 % of the TCC and the determination of colony counts according to the german drinking water ordinance require at least 48 hours. The time saving and the availability of mobile and recently also of online-instruments are important arguments for a promising application of FCM in water analysis.

Additionally, FCM can differentiate between live (membrane intact) and dead (membrane damaged) cells which allows the detailed investigation of the efficacy of disinfection methods. Several publications propose the general application of FCM for the surveillance of disinfection methods. However, this has to be regarded critically due to different mechanisms of action of disinfectants - especially with regard to UV-disinfection.

The objective of the project is to determine the potential and the frontiers of this forward-looking method. The FCM should be further developed and validated for different fields of application:

• Fast measurement of total cell counts (TCC) in different matrices
• Fast characterization of raw water and drinking water
• Specific detection of fecal indicators
• Surveillance of the efficacy of disinfection

The comparison of the results from FCM with classical culture methods should reveal the relevance of FCM data for the assessment of the hygienic quality of the water. For an as far as possible close-to-practice development of flow cytometry real water samples of preferably different compositions from water utilities will be analyzed.

The DVGW-Forschungsstelle TUHH performs the following work program in the overall project:

• Participation in interlaboratory tests for the determination of TCC, LNA/HNA-ratio and proportion of live (membrane intact) cells
• Analysis of the microbial dynamics in treatment processes of different raw waters and during distribution (long-distance water main)   
• Surveillance of disinfection: investigation of the effect of chlorine dioxide on the live/dead differentiation of cells in laboratory experiments with different drinking water qualities
• Measurement of the effect of different water matrices (e.g. particles, dissolved compounds) on bacterial FCM-signals
• Hygienic relevance of the data: interpretation of FCM-data and evaluation of their hygienic relevance by comparison with the results from routine culture techniques
• Adaptation of standard operation procedures (SOPs) for sampling, sample fixation, instrument settings and quality control

Research partners:

• Coordination: Helmholtz Zentrum München GmbH, Institut für Grundwasserökologie, Neuherberg
• DVGW Technologiezentrum Wasser - TZW, Karlsruhe,
• Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Gießen
• Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt, Zentrale Analytik, Trinkwasser, Augsburg und Hof
• Gelsenwasser AG, Gelsenkirchen
• Westfälische Wasser- und Umweltanalytik GmbH, Gelsenkirchen
• Boden- und Grundwasserlabor GmbH, Dresden
• Institut für Grundwasserökologie IGÖ GmbH, Landau
• Limco International GmbH, Konstanz

Funding:

project management / project work:

Dr. B. Bendinger /  Anne Madeleine Trimbach, M. Sc.

Situation:

In Germany, groundwater is the most important resource for drinking water. Due to land use changes, river development, extreme weather events and substance deposition, the quality and availability of groundwater is at risk. To encounter this trend it is essential to develop and standardize new concepts and tools to evaluate the ecological status and the self-cleaning potential of water. Only this allows for a sustainable resource management of groundwater on a regional scale.

The aim of this multidisciplinary project is to develop methods and biological-ecological concepts which are applicable for groundwater monitoring in water management practice. After comprehensive testing and standardization these will be provided to environmental authorities and water management organizations as a modular system. The main tasks of this project network are:

• Identification and implementation of ecological criteria for evaluating the ecological status of groundwater
• Standardization of sampling techniques for ecological indicators and development of an online-measurement-system to evaluate the ecotoxicological effects of pollutants
• Evaluation of the ecosystem services of chosen groundwater systems with regard to extreme weather events
• Evaluation and validation of concepts and methods at chosen project sites differing in land use
• Development of guidelines for water management practice

Two third of the drinking water in Germany is produced from groundwater of which a big part is anaerobic groundwater, i.e. it contains no free oxygen and varying concentrations of reduced compounds. These can precipitate upon contact with oxygen from air, thus leading to alterations of a water sample. Therefore, standard methods for examination of water must be adapted to these special conditions. The objective is to obtain a compilation of robust and practicable methods for the evaluation of the microbiological status of anaerobic groundwater.

• Selection of meaningful indicator parameters for use in anaerobic groundwater
• Development, adaptation and standardization of selected methods based on anaerobic groundwater samples from the Fuhrberger Feld
• Comparative measurements between project partners
• Quantification and characterization of total and biologically degradable organic carbon

Anaerobic groundwater can fulfill an important ecosystem service for the reduction of high anthropogenic nitrate input into near-surface groundwater resulting in low-nitrate groundwater for drinking water production. The responsible process for this is microbiological denitrification. The objective is to determine activity and resilience of the pyrite-dependent nitrate reduction.

• Establishing of a laboratory test for the measurement of the autotrophic denitrification potential in groundwater samples from the Fuhrberger Feld (activity test)
• Comparison of the activity measurements with the abundance of denitrifying bacteria or denitrification enzymes with molecular biology
• Determination of the most important denitrifying bacteria
• Effects of selected pollutants on the autotrophic denitrification potential in laboratory tests for the evaluation of the sensitivity of this ecosystem service

Associated partner of the subproject is the utility enercity, Hannover with its groundwater abstraction field Fuhrberger Feld where the groundwater samples will be taken.

project management / project work:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Ernst / Dipl.-Ing. Jan Benecke

Situation:

Local water supply shortages are one of the biggest global challenges of today's generation. The only way to extend existing drinking water resources beyond what is available from the water cycle is through water reuse or desalination of sea and brackish water.

At present, the most energy-efficient technology to desalinate saline waters is high pressure membrane filtration using solution-diffusion-membranes (RO: reverse osmosis). However, membrane scaling poses a major challenge on the performance of a reverse osmosis process. Membrane scaling is the deposition, accumulation and growth of crystals on the membrane surface and may occur as a consequence of surpassing solubility limits of different salts (e.g. gypsum/CaSO4∙2H2O) during filtration. Scaling layers block the membrane surface and may create an additional hydraulic resistance thus leading to loss in filtration performance and possible process failure.

Numerous publications demonstrate that the presence of impurities, such as natural organic matter (NOM), can interfere with the crystallization process in aqueous solutions. In the case of membrane desalination processes, it has been shown that interactions between NOM and scaling mechanisms may alter the overall performance. An improved knowledge of these interactions supports the development of tailored measures to prevent or minimize membrane scaling.

 

Different experimental setups including a lab-scale automated high pressure membrane desalination system and experimental procedures were established to investigate the impact of NOM on crystallization of common scalants in aqueous solution and RO desalination. First results show that the presence of NOM retards crystallization in aqueous solution. During RO desalination, the presence of NOM leads to distortion of crystal development and growth, i.e. a change in crystal size, morphology and number. Future investigations aim at assessing the impact of membrane surface properties altered by NOM accumulation on scaling processes. For characterization of relevant NOM fractions in natural waters, procedural experiments are supplemented with size exclusion chromatography (LC OCD) and fluorescence spectroscopy. Crystals and scaling layers are characterized by means of microscopic investigations.

Project magagement / project work:

Prof. Dr. W. Schneider / J. Palm / A.-G. Meier

Situation:

• Eawag, Dübendorf, CH
• Geberit International AG, Jona, CH
• Georg Fischer JRG AG, Sissach, CH
• Industrielle Werke Basel / Wasserlabor, Basel, CH
• Wasserversorgung Zürich, Zürich, CH
• Kantonales Labor Zürich (KLZH)
• Hochschule Luzern (HSLU)/Zentrum für Integrale Gebäudetechnologie (ZIG)
• SVGW Schweizerischer Verein für Gas und Wasser (SVGW)

Projektleitung / Projektbearbeitung:
 

Projektleitung (Eawag):
Dipl.-Ing. Stefan Kötzsch, Dr. Frederik Hammes

Projektbearbeitung (Eawag):
Franziska Rölli, Romina Sigrist

Projektkommission/-bearbeitung (DVGW-TUHH):
Dr. Bernd Bendinger / Dorota Bruniecka-Sulewski

Problemstellung:

In häuslichen Trinkwasser-Installationen können Werkstoffe aus Kunststoff einen erheblichen Einfluss auf die chemische und mikrobiologische Trinkwasserbeschaffenheit ausüben. Mittels des Methodenpakets „BioMig“, sollen Hersteller ihre Kunststoffprodukte für den Einsatz im Trinkwasserbereich effektiver optimieren können und der Endverbraucher soll durch Produktvergleiche eine bessere Orientierungshilfe über Produktqualitäten erhalten. Zusätzlich sollen geeignete Präventivmaßnahmen bei der Inbetriebnahme der Trinkwasser-Installationen den Endverbrauchern mehr Sicherheit bieten.

• Biologische Abbaubarkeit der migrierten organischen Kohlenstoffverbindungen
• Inhibierung des mikrobiologischen Wachstums
• Temperaturabhängigkeit der Migration von organischen Kohlenstoffverbindungen
• Mikrobiologisch induzierte Migration von organischen Kohlenstoffverbindungen

project management / project work:
 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Ernst / S. Dillmann, M.Sc.

Situation:

The aim of this project is the determination of the process conditions during the LbL-coating of an UF-capillary membrane and the optimization of the separation properties of the resulting membrane. A laboratory filtration unit is used for the investigation of the permeability and rejection, as well as the inquiry of the stability of the coating and the backwash behaviour. Electron microscopy and the measurement of the zeta potential provide additional information about the coating structure.
 

project management / project work:

Dr. B. Bendinger /  Julia Schmitt, M. Sc.

Situation:

project management / project work:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Ernst / Dipl.-Ing. Martin Schulz

Situation:

Low-pressure membrane techniques in water treatment, like microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) offer many advantages compared to conventional purification processes due to a small footprint, reliability in operation and high water quality effluent independent of the available raw water source. One of the main limitations of UF and MF systems is membrane fouling, which is the undesirable deposition and accumulation of particulate matter, microorganism, colloids, and solutes on and within the membrane matrix. Fouling is undesirable because it reduces membrane performance, increases operating costs, and shortens membrane lifetime.

Lab-scale as well as pilot-scale systems are available for filtration and fouling experiments. The dissolved fraction of natural organic matter is quantified and characterized by methods of the analytic chemistry, like the Liquid Chromatography with Organic Carbon Detection (LC-OCD) and the Fluorescence Spectroscopy (EEM). Image analysis techniques like the Nanoparticle-Tracking-Analysis (NTA) are used to investigate the colloidal and particulate water constituents. A promising option to enhance this technique is the application of fluorescence marker for a further discrimination of specific colloidal groups. The impact of individual water constituents, as well as their complex interactions, on the membrane filtration behavior is investigated by tests with model waters. The results are verified by and critically compared to filtration performance with real waters of varying raw water sources. Using a statistical data analysis, fouling relevant substances shall be identified and – depending on the water composition – be reduced by means of different pre-treatment strategies (e.g. coagulation, adsorption or oxidation) in order to identify conditions, which allow an energy and cost efficient application of this technique.

Funding:

project management / project work:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Ernst / J. Benecke, M. Langer

Situation:

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) promotes the development of international research cooperation within the funding programme "International Cooperation in Education and Research – The Central, Eastern and South Eastern European Region" (Moel-Soel).

Together with partners from Greece and Poland, sustainable concepts for safe water supply will be developed to meet local challenges. The main objective of the SafeWatPRO project is the preparation of a successful proposal and application for the for  funding  of  the  EU  Framework  Programme  for Research  and  Innovation  Horizon  2020  and  other  research-relevant EU  programmes.

The main focus is on the development of a sustainable concept based on the application of new materials and energy efficient technologies for drinking water supply. For the submission of an H2020 proposal innovative water treatment processes are developed.

Funding:

Project management / project work:

Prof. Mathias Ernst, Dr.-Ing. Barbara Wendler

Situation:

Increasingly, water supply companies wish to capture and assess modern technology developments incorporating the international water market to resolve specific forthcoming challenges. Assessing technologies requires a neutral and technically competent screening of technology providers on the global market, including identifying the advantages and disadvantages for application under the conditions for water supply companies in Germany.

Funding:

Project management / project work:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Ernst / Tomi Mantel, M. Sc.
 

Situation:

In 2020, 30% of the world population had no access to safe and clean drinking water supply. Some of the rreasons for this are microbiological pollution and the presence of arsenate and other heavy metals in raw water sources. High concentration of arsenate in ground water is a health problem for more than 300 million people in 100 countries in the world. Related to arsenate, chromate is another geogene pollutant that causes problems for the water supply of millions people worldwide. Both substances belong to the chemical group of the oxyanions (HAsO42-, CrO42-) and are highly carcinogenic and listed as most hazardous health issues by the WHO (World Heath Organization). Due the negative charge of this substances, ion exchange is a possible technology of the treatment of this raw water. However, this technology is technically complicated as well as cost and energy intensive.

Projectmanagemanet / project work:

Dr.-Ing. Barbara Wendler, Jakob Stumme

Situation:

Water suppliers have to deal with increasing sulfate concentrations in ground water and bank filtrate used for drinking water production. There are several reasons for the increase of sulfate concentration.

• Shut-down and flooding of open brown coal pits cause increased sulfate concentration in surface water. From the surface water, sulfate can migrate into near-surface groundwater that is used for drinking water production
• Increasing concentrations of nitrate and the related oxidation of pyrite in pyrite dominated extraction sites result in oxidation of sulfide to sulfate with consequential effects on the ground water quality
• Deep groundwaters, as present in northern German extraction sites, are partially in exchange with salt domes (especially gypsum) and therefore enrich sulfate  

The limit value for sulfate in drinking water is at 250 mg/L as prescribed in the German Drinking Water Regulation and must be strictly adhered by all drinking water suppliers.

Within the project commercially available technologies (low pressure reverse osmosis LPRO, ion exchange process CARIX) are tested regarding energetically optimized, sustainable sulfate removal for the treatment of different raw waters for drinking water application.  In Hamburg, deep and salty ground waters (anaerobic before and aerobic after deferrization) are tested, in Berlin near-surface bank filtrate is treated.

Results from semi-technical scale (plant capacities ca. 1 m³/h) are extrapolated regarding available literature data and are compared through ecological (life cycle assessment) and economical assessment. Evaluation criteria are amongst others specific energy consumption, application behavior and sustainability of each technology under varying raw water compositions.

Beyond the industrially available technologies LPRO and CARIX a commercial Polymer-UF-Membrane is post modified by a novel coating process and thus optimized for the target substance sulfate. This innovative technology of Capillary-NF runs at low operating pressures compared to the state of the art processes and will therefore be able to realize operation at  lower energy demand for the treatment of waters with increased sulfate concentration. The experiments are run in parallel to the LPRO and CARIX trials in technical scale. The operation data of the Capillary-NF are regarded in the ecological assessment and are critically compared with results of LPRO and CARIX.

www.hamburgwasser.de/privatkunden/entsalzung

https://www.kompetenz-wasser.de/de/forschung/projekte/suleman

project management / project work:
 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Ernst / Tomi Mantel, M. Sc.

Situation:

Using ion beam enhanced deposition of metals, called plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PBII&D), the surface conductivity of common polymer membranes will be increased. By applying an external potential (-1.5 V to 1,5 V), these modified membranes will be examined on their fouling- and separation behavior in different aqueous solutions.  The results will be compared with existing transport models (electrokinetic models) and they will be adjusted, if necessary. These findings will be used to design a model which can be used for the simulation of the separation behavior under different operation conditions. More detailed and comprehensive understanding of the interactions between surface charge of the membrane (zeta potential) and resulting fouling- and separation behavior can be utilized for “potentially controlled functionalization” of membrane surfaces.