Environmental Catalysis

The Environmental Catalysis Working Group develops innovative catalysts, composites, and processes for removing problematic pollutants from water. By "problematic pollutants," we specifically mean persistent and mobile chemicals that often elude established treatment methods. Catalysts are indispensable tools for driving chemical reactions quickly and selectively, both in industrial settings and in environmental chemistry. However, unlike typical industrial processes, environmental reaction conditions are dictated by nature and are generally unfavorable for the chemical treatment of contaminated water. Therefore, one of our key tasks is to design catalytic processes that are robust enough to handle typical environmental pollutant concentrations (i.e., µg/L to mg/L) and complex water matrices (salts, heavy metal ions, biofilms, humic substances, etc.), while remaining environmentally friendly and sustainable. To achieve this, we combine physical processes, such as sorption for pollutant enrichment, with the chemical-catalytic destruction of the adsorbed contaminants. The working group is dedicated to a broad approach that extends from mechanistic process understanding to practical application proposals. With the ultimate goal of groundwater application, we investigate biomineralization processes that enable soil stabilization or the creation of hydraulic barriers in the subsurface. To support this, microfluidic and numerical methods for subsurface applications are continuously being advanced.

Research focus

• The destruction of PFAS and other persistent mobile pollutants as well as complex mixtures of substances in the water matrix (especially groundwater): For this purpose, we are developing new photocatalytic processes and new methods that initiate suitable radical reactions.
• We are developing sustainable catalysts to meet water quality standards for local water cycles in the context of blue-green urban infrastructures. 
• Dehalogenation reactions with Pd and Cu catalysts for the destruction of "conventional" halogenated pollutants in water (i.e. halogenated solvents, pesticides, pharmaceutical residues and the like).
• Research on the technical applications of biomineralization in porous media, as well as the development of microfluidic and numerical methods for subsurface applications
  
  

Team