Water Technology

Water of adequate quality is a vital resource for human development, industry, and agriculture. While water may have been plentiful in the past, rapid urbanisation, population growth, industrialisation, and contamination from informal developments and environmentally harmful practices have put significant strain on existing water resources.

Compounding this issue are the combined effects of global climate change and population growth, which lead to reduced rainfall in certain areas and a general increase in water consumption. Consequently, providing water of sufficient quality is recognised as a major developmental challenge worldwide.

The Water Technology Group in the Department of Chemical Engineering focuses on research and development to address both local and international challenges in water treatment and provision. Our objective is to improve existing water treatment technologies and develop new ones that will help tackle this global issue. Our strengths lie in membrane technology for water treatment and reuse (including microfiltration, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, forward osmosis, membrane distillation, and Donnan Dialysis), as well as in technologies that are applicable and sustainable in developing economies.

Our current projects range from investigating and modelling fundamental phenomena to developing technologies for field implementation.

Stellenbosch University, in collaboration with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Fraunhofer), recently established the Fraunhofer Innovation Platform for the Water-Energy-Food Nexus (FIP-WEF@SU). Many exciting water technology-related research projects are driven as part of this collaboration.

The researchers listed below are part of the Water Technology group. Click the link to their individual profiles to learn more about their research interests and activities.