Using artificial intelligence to reduce direct greenhouse gases from municipal wastewater treatment: That is the goal of our new research project KIkKa (Artificial Intelligence for Climate Neutral Wastewater Treatment Plants).

Wastewater treatment plants play an important role on the path to climate neutrality for municipalities. The main driver in climate-relevant emissions is the climate gas nitrous oxide (_N2O), which can be released as an intermediate product during biological wastewater treatment. It is 273 times more harmful to the climate than_CO2. AI can help to control the complex processes in the biological treatment stage in an optimal and climate-friendly way in order to ensure the best possible water protection through wastewater treatment with the lowest possible energy consumption as well as the greatest possible reduction of nitrous oxide emissions.

For this purpose, we are investigating the different process steps of biological nitrogen elimination at the project site of the Göppingen wastewater treatment plant (SEG Göppingen) in cooperation with variolytics GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB) using high-resolution and innovative sensors.

The KIkKa project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and has a duration of 2.5 years.