Dr Martin Spurr leads the team at Newcastle University, and Scientists from both Universities have now gone on to collaborate with Northumbrian Water, Welsh Water, and Chivas Brothers, funded by an Industrial Partnership Award. The team will conduct more extensive testing across different wastewater streams and look at routes to commercialisation. This technology could help protect the environment, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save on costly wastewater treatments. 

Professor Ian Head, Dean of Research and Innovation, Newcastle University says “Current methods to assess organic contaminant levels in wastewater take five days to give a result. Proactive environmental protection needs real-time monitoring. Our novel sensor system brings this within reach with significant benefits to the environment and efficiency of wastewater treatment.”

The full project information has been included in the BBSRC Impact Showcase 2021.

You can view the video which illustrates how a new biosensor developed by Newcastle University functions and how it can be used for real-time monitoring of wastewater systems treatment.