Institute for Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality and Solid Waste ...

Chair of Waste Management and Emissions
Solid Waste Management
Research topics:
• Waste avoidance
• Development of new waste management
strategies
• Simulation of solid waste management
systems
• Collection and transport of solid
waste
• Recycling of valuable materials
• Biological treatment: composting
and fermentation
• New measurement methods for
the analysis of odour, dust and
germs
• Environmental impact assessment
of earth burial and cremation
• Decentralized waste management
systems in tourist regions
• Physical and chemical analysis of
solid waste
In our job, we’re on top of the pile
Waste is a potentially valuable material in the wrong place. This statement is the central principle of many activities
of our municipal solid waste section. Focal points are avoidance, utilisation and environmentally friendly
treatment of municipal and commercial waste.
Both ecological and economical aspects are dealt with. It has been shown, e.g., that avoidance of waste in
commercial operations can be financially interesting for the companies concerned. We are intensively busy with
the question of how waste management of the future may look. Some questions here are: which waste types
should continue to be collected separately? Which mixtures of substances can be separated using new technical
methods? Can part of the waste be economically transported by rail? Several research projects are occupied
with the treatment of biological waste, among others with the questions: do pollutants exist in organic wastes?
Are these pollutants reduced during composting? What energy potential is concealed in organic waste, if they
are used in fermentation plants to generate biogas or employed in biomass power stations? For the creation of
waste management concepts for communities or counties, the simulation and modelling of waste streams and
utilisation techniques play a major role. Because even humans can become a waste problem from an ecological
point of view, we have carried out investigations on the ecological effects of burials and cremations. For a number
of communities, our investigations on decentral concepts for waste treatment in tourist regions are of particular
interest. These island solutions allow processes for waste and sewage treatment to be combined with the generation
of service water and power. Decentral and adapted technology is of prime importance for the sustainable
development of third-world and fast-developing countries. This is why we have established cooperation and joint
projects with institutions in Brazil, Costa Rica, Egypt, Turkey, China and other countries.
74