Project Info
Impact of Lanthanides on Wastewater Treatment
Junko Munakata Marr | junko@mines.edu
Rare earth elements are increasingly used across a wide variety of modern technologies. Studies of their impact on microbial communities that treat wastewater are limited. This project is investigating the effect of several rare earth elements on aerobic and anaerobic wastewater treatment performance and the associated microbial communities.
More Information
We have numerous presentations about our project that I can provide upon request. This is a relatively new project so we do not yet have publications.
Grand Engineering Challenge: Provide access to clean water
Student Preparation
Qualifications
Attention to lab safety and procedural details.
Time Commitment
20 hours/month
Skills/Techniques Gained
The student will become proficient at traditional water quality analyses such as chemical oxygen demand, ammonia, and nitrate. We are in the process of implementing a novel dissolved oxygen sensor and control system for the aerobic treatment reactors. The student will also learn about culturing microbes on plates and conducting characterization analyses of those cultures.
Mentoring Plan
The MS student on the project will work closely with the student until the student is able to operate independently in the lab. I as the PI organize weekly project meetings of the research team that will include the student.