Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton

The Environment Group has a wide range of research activities: further details of these can be found using the tabs on the right to access research themes and centres within the Group

Some key research highlights include:

Bioenergy

- We are research partners in the EU FP7 demonstration programme on Algal biofuels. Our part of the ALL-GAS consortium's work is to look at the potential for bio-methane production from whole algal biomass and residues

- In the EU FP7 VALORGAS programme we lead a consortium of Universities and companies researching the production of energy from food waste by anaerobic digestion.

- Industry funded research includes the design of integrated processes for second generation bioethanol production.

- Comprehensive tools have been developed to assess the energy balance of crop based renewable energy both in the UK and Europe 

Waste Management

- We have carried out a series of projects for the UK Government on maximising the resource potential and minimising the impact of organic waste management.

- Waste collection and treatment systems are being evaluated from the viewpoint of energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions 

Wastewater treatment

- Our expertise in removal of trace pollutants has allowed us to develop new methods for their removal using bio-sorbents and designer nano-adorbers.

- Design models based on climate data have been developed for the sizing and selection of waste stabilisation ponds to maximise the potential for wastewater reuse.

- The EU FP7 ALL-GAS project includes work at pilot and demonstration scale on anaerobic treatment of wastewater at ambient temperatures. We are developing and evaluating these systems using a variety of technologies from expanded beds to membrane systems. 

Water Resources and climate

- We have been working with the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation since the 1990s on determination of irrigation water requirements for agriculture worldwide. Recent activities include establishment of a large-scale field experimental site in Saudi Arabia, and new applications for the CROPWAT software.

- Recharge of unconfined aquifers is being modelled to evaluate the effects of changes in land use and climate. Work on the hydrogeology of coastal sand dune systems has shown that water tables may fall between 1-2 m by the end of the century, with significant ecosystem impacts.

- Studies on coastal flood risk and its impacts on the human and natural environment are being undertaken for large infrastructure projects such as the planned new nuclear power stations in the UK, and for Bangladesh as part of the NERC/DFID "Ecosystems for Poverty Alleviation" programme.

- Water infiltration into unstable slopes and cliffs is a major factor in triggering landslides. Recent modelling work has shown that climate change will result in a greater range of pore water pressures, greater opportunity for rainfall to infiltrate and increased risk of instability. 

Eco-hydraulics

- As part of the EU FP7 funded Hylow project we are researching the impact of hydropower development on fisheries and developing mitigation strategies, including resolution of socio-economic impediments and conflicts through associated EPSRC-ESRC funding.

- The UK Environment Agency is supporting work quantifying fish response to the fine-scale hydrodynamics associated with fish passages, screens and tidal structures and the group is developing technologies to improve the performance of these

- Research to identify potential impacts of river development by measuring fish response to acoustics is part of an Environment Agency and Cefas funded project. 

Fresh water ecology

- The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and the Environment Agency are funding work quantifying the use of thermal refugia by brown trout in Southern English chalk streams

- The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation supports research on the effects of power station operation on aquatic ecology.  This thermal ecology data has been used to predict effects of climate change on rivers and coastal waters.

- The group's interests also include the long-term recovery and rehabilitation of polluted rivers and canals, as well as the impact of land use on the diversity and composition of fish and invertebrate communities.