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Type of project: BSc/MSc Thesis/Internship
Duration: 5-7 months, starting from June 2026
Location: Wetsus, European centre of excellence for sustainable water technology, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands
Allowance: The maximum Wetsus allowance for this internship is 425 € per month. Grant holding students (i.e. Erasmus or other) receiving financial support of less than 425 € per month can apply for a top-up supplement to the maximum allowance.
Project Background
Synthetic flocculants such as polyacrylamide are widely used in (waste)water treatment due to their good flocculation capacity. The flocculation capacity of synthetic flocculants is mainly due to their properties like high molecular weight and charge density. However, synthetic flocculants derived from fossil fuels result in environmental issues like high carbon footprint and potential eco-toxicity. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), biodegradable microbially-secreted polymers in wastewater treatment processes, have similar properties to synthetic flocculants. Therefore, EPS is considered a green alternative to synthetic flocculants.
Tracking flocs formation and growth is essential for optimizing the flocculation process in terms of mixing speed, mixing duration and settling. Moreover, previous studies mainly focused on the flocculation performance of EPS—specifically colloid removal—while two key questions remain unclear: (1) how EPS properties influence flocs formation and growth and, (2) how EPS interacts with different types of colloids. These knowledge gaps constrain the scale-up and development of EPS as bioflocculants. Addressing these two questions will provide deeper insight into EPS-driven flocculation and support the production and application of EPS.
The student joining this project will conduct flocculation tests in various colloidal suspensions with different EPS as flocculants. The student will then monitor flocs formation and growth in EPS- induced flocculation through an in-situ imaging setup and optimize an existing program to analyze images of flocs. This intern/thesis project is a part of the PhD research of Bohan Chen. The outcome of this project is expected to understand the EPS flocculation process, particularly flocs formation and growth, and to enhance the EPS-driven flocculation performance.
Your task
• Conduct flocculation tests in various colloidal suspensions with different EPS
• Acquire flocs images in an in-situ imaging setup
• Optimize an existing program to analyze the acquired images
• Write a final report/thesis of this project
Your profile
• Background in Environmental Engineering/Chemical Engineering/Data Science or related fields
• Enrolment in an EU university, for non-EU residents, enrollment in a Dutch university is obligatory
• Knowledge and experience in Python
• Great interest in flocculation, image analysis, and programming
• Highly motivated, responsible, and willing to learn about flocculation
• Fluent in English and good English writing skills
• Experience in image analysis will be a plus
How to apply
Please upload two files:
Abstract
The realisation of a circular economy has thus far unfolded under the assumption that it would fit within existing economic arrangements. In practice, we witness many circular initiatives struggling to give shape to their ambitions, let alone develop to maturity. These past months, various material recycling organisations terminated their activities, seeing virgin alternatives from other parts of the world flooding the market at prices against they cannot compete. If the transition towards a circular economy (i.e. an economy of value preservation) is to be taken seriously, a new perspective on value in our economic system seems unavoidable, as the rewriting of the rules of the economic game. At this moment, current perceptions of value stand in the way of this transition both at micro as well as macro levels. Several contours for a collective exploration of new directions of value and economic configuration that foster circular transition will be addressed.
Abstract
In his key note he will conclude after a life of innovations that it is impossible that humanity will stay within the save planetary boundaries with innovation only. We should be more critical about the behaviour of the rich population in the world and more critical about new innovations that prove to be dangerous, like the PFAS crisis shows at this moment. In his keynote he will investigate how to look at the world that can stay within the save planetary boundaries, how should we change ourselves? It is clear if we only talk about the words of science and systems we miss the essential words of how we should cooperate and change ourselves. And his search for coherent save innovations. Which innovations will be save and will lead to a fair and sustainable world? And will lead to a world we want to live in.
Abstract
There is a growing number of new sustainable, inclusive, cohesive, participatory, just and humane economic models. A possible next step in the discourse about them is the comparative analysis in order to find out key commonalities, potential synergies, and “requirements” for a future-fit economic model. The author and initiator of the Economy for the Common Good provides an overview of these „new sustainable economic models“ and compares them according to underlying values, principles, and practical ways of implementation. The keynote addresses the cooperative spirit of the conference and prepares the ground for its public highlight on the eve of June 3rd, the round table with representatives of diverse future-fit economic models.
Abstract
The scientific debate on whether economies should always continue to grow increasingly becomes a political and societal debate. On the one hand further growth for the most affluent countries seems neither possible nor valuable, but on the other hand there is still lack of understanding and knowledge what a non-growing economy should look like and could best be governed. In this lecture we discuss various policy measures that can be realistically implemented, take into account government finances and aim at a higher quality of life despite a non-growing economy.
Abstract
Democracy is under pressure, and less and less able to stir the economy into a sustainable direction. Therefore, to stabilize democracy and to make possible the socio-ecological transformation of the economy, democratic principles need to be implemented directly in the economy. This is not only a matter of morality, but also has practical advantages. Democratizing the economy can increase legitimacy and take advantage of the “knowledge of the many” to accelerate the transformation. Democratic practices, especially deliberation, allow bringing together different forms of knowledge, which is crucial for the local implementation of principles of social and ecological sustainability. This talk explores what this idea means in more concrete terms, from democratic participation in the workplace to the democratization of time.
Abstract
Over the past decades, markets have conventionally been seen as the best instrument to stimulate economic growth and enhance prosperity and well-being. The automatic link between markets and economic growth is increasingly questioned, however, as well as the automatic link between economic growth and enhancement of well-being. This has led to attempts to capture well-being development more directly than through GDP per capita figures and has produced a more variegated picture of well-being growth. Also, this has led to a shift of focus to other coordination systems than the market, as primarily the state but increasingly also the association. Analyses of the historical record suggest that especially the latter could be a vital component in future well-being.