KARLsens

Development of a Photonic Measurement System for On-Site Monitoring of Micropollutants in Wastewater in Accordance with KARL

The ThWIC project KARLsens aims to enable widespread, digital, and continuous monitoring of human-made pollutants in industrial and municipal wastewater.

The revised EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (KARL), which introduces additional treatment requirements for the removal of micropollutants, represents an important step for water and public health protection—but also creates new challenges for the wastewater sector. New approaches are needed to detect these substances directly on site and at treatment facilities, enabling continuous monitoring and helping plants operate according to actual demand while using resources more efficiently.

This is where KARLsens comes in. The project aims to develop an innovative measurement system capable of automatically and continuously detecting selected micropollutants relevant to the directive.

The system uses photonic detection principles based on the specific optical properties of nanostructures, known as Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR). When pollutants bind to specific receptors, the nanostructures convert this interaction into an optical signal that can be measured.

In the future, this could help wastewater treatment plants operate more efficiently, conserve resources, and provide better long-term protection for our water systems.

Funded by: German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)

Project partners:
design:lab weimar GmbH
dresden elektronik ingeniuertechnik gmbh
ECH Elektrochemie Halle GmbH
FSU Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
GeSiM – Gesellschaft für Silizium-Mikrosysteme mbH
IKTS Fraunhofer-Institut für Keramische Technologien und Systeme
IPHT Leibniz-Institut für Photonische Technologien e. V.
Steinbeis Qualitätssicherung und Bildverarbeitung GmbH