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»Environment Week« 2020: Jury selects Bauhaus-Universität Weimar as exhibitor from more than 400 applications
On 9–10 June, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, DBU) will present selected ideas on the subjects of environmental protection and sustainability in the grounds of Bellevue Palace. Two green innovations from Weimar will be among those presented: the interactive »Phosphorus Bank« (P-Bank) recycling toilet and »LocalHy«, a collaborative project on hydrogen technology.
Choosing from the more than 440 applications was no easy task for the expert jury, said DBU Secretary General Alexander Bonde. The quality, innovation potential and exemplary nature of the projects were decisive factors. In addition to a comprehensive programme comprising discussions, interviews and expert forums, around 190 exhibitors will present their projects on the topics of innovative environmental technology, energy efficiency and resource conservation, climate protection, energy system transformation, education, nature conservation, digitisation, water protection, soil conservation, land consumption, biodiversity, mobility and transport as well as construction and housing on an exhibition space covering almost 4,000 m². Several thousand invited experts and guests are expected. On the second day, the large environmental show will also open its doors to the general public for a »public day«.
For more information, see www.woche-der-umwelt.de.
»Phosphorus Bank«
Phosphorus is a vital, finite resource that disappears down the drain every day unused. Students and teachers at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar are now calling for an end to this wastage: »With the P-Bank, we want to show the public how easy it is to recycle waste water«, explains project manager Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Londong from the Professorship for Urban Water Management and Sanitation. The principle is both simple and ingenious: »We want to re-use the nutrients that we take in with our food as fertiliser. The phosphorus contained in urine must be separated from the water and harmful substances for this«, Londong continues. During the »Environmental Week«, the scientists will explain which technical processes the P-Bank uses and how innovative sanitary systems work.
The Bauhaus-Institute for Infrastructure Solutions (b.is) at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and WERKHAUS GmbH have been cooperating on the P-Bank project since 2019. The project team developed the P-Bank with the support of Goldeimer gGmbH. The interactive showroom, which includes toilet cabins, was produced and set up at the Werkhaus GmbH plant in Bad Bodenteich using sustainable materials.
»LocalHy« – decentralised water electrolysis with combined hydrogen and oxygen usage from renewables
The partners of the »LocalHy« research project believe that hydrogen is the element missing for a decentralised energy turnaround. Available in almost unlimited quantities, this element can be produced from both fossil and renewable energies and also be transported and stored, making it ideal for balancing fluctuating loads from wind or solar power.
Prof. Jentsch from the Professorship for Energy Systems at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar has been involved in a project to test novel power-to-gas system at a municipal waste water treatment plant in southern Thuringia since early 2017. The core component is a high-pressure electrolyser (100 bar), which uses renewable electricity to trigger a chemical reaction, i.e. to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen produced locally can then be used as an emission-free fuel for cars, buses and trains. It can also be stored temporarily and converted back into electricity later on using a closed cycle hydrogen-oxygen engine. This newly developed combustion engine produces zero emissions: the excess oxygen not required to fuel vehicles is used in the biological treatment stage at the waste water treatment plant to reduce the energy requirements or enhance the efficiency of treatment.
Partners:
AVX / Kumatec Hydrogen GmbH & Co. KG; Föritztal isle Steuerungstechnik GmbH; Ilmenau sera ComPress GmbH; Immenhausen WTZ Roßlau; Dessau Roßlau, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar; Weimar Wasserwerke Sonneberg; Sonneberg Frauenhofer CSP; Halle
Prof. Londong and Prof. Jentsch are gladly on hand to assist in case of questions:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Londong
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Faculty of Civil Engineering
Professorship for Urban Water Management and Sanitation
Tel.: +49 (0) 36 43 / 58 46 15
Email: joerg.londong[at]uni-weimar.de
Prof. Dr. Mark Jentsch
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Faculty of Civil Engineering
Professorship for Energy Systems
Tel.: +49 (0) 36 43 / 58 46 32
Email: mark.jentsch[at]uni-weimar.de
Kontakt
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Claudia Weinreich
Pressesprecherin
Tel.: +49(0)3643/58 11 73
Luise Ziegler
Mitarbeiterin Medienarbeit
Tel.: +49(0)3643/58 11 80
Fax: +49(0)3643/58 11 72
E-Mail: presse@uni-weimar.de
Web: www.uni-weimar.de/medienservice