Develops novel municipal wastewater treatment systems, performs ecological, molecular and chemical evaluation of advanced wastewater treatment systems
Advancing Canadian Wastewater Assets’ (ACWA) primary goal is to develop wastewater treatment technologies that will remove existing and emerging contaminants to improve ecosystem and human health. ACWA's infrastructure is embedded within the City of Calgary’s Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment facility and includes advanced wastewater treatment processes and 12 experimental streams that can be dosed with various constituents of municipal effluents. Together, we use these facilities to demonstrate advanced treatment techniques and the impact of the resultant effluent on the environment.
ACWA's onsite laboratory has state-of-the-art facilities to quantify contaminant residues, identify and culture cells, determine water-borne pathogens and examine gene expression in model organisms. Additional laboratories (microbiology, aquatic and stable isotope) on the University of Calgary campus complement and support ACWA's research program. The first facility of its kind, the ACWA research facility bridges the gap between bench and pilot-scale research laboratories, and applications in full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plants.
The ACWA research facility enables research that cannot be done anywhere else in the world. Current lab-sized facilities cannot realistically replicate actual field situations. Municipal treatment plants around the world are not suited to intensive research programs – particularly if the experiments involve contaminants harmful to people and the environment. We expect that researchers and city planners from around the world will visit Calgary to learn from the system and test their own thinking as they develop solutions for their own unique challenges.
Prototype testing and evaluation, analytical chemistry service, bioassays, environmental assessment of treatment technologies, molecular analysis, genetic sequencing
- Chemical industries
- Clean technology
- Environmental technologies and related services
- Fisheries and aquaculture
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
Specialized labs and equipment
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Specialized lab |
Equipment |
Function |
|---|---|---|
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ACWA Pine Creek Analytical Lab |
Quantitative time-of-flight liquid chromatrography-mass spectrometer |
Identification of contaminants in wastewater |
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Triple quadruple liquid chromatography mass spectrometer |
Identification of contaminant in wastewater |
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High-performance liquid chromatography |
Identification of contaminant in wastewater |
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Inductive coupled plasma – mass spectrometer (ICPMS) |
Identification of contaminant in wastewater |
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Ion chromatograph |
Identification of contaminant in wastewater |
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Gas chromatograph with electron capture detector (GC-ECD) |
Identification of contaminant in wastewater |
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Gas chromatograph with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) |
Identification of contaminant in wastewater |
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Gas chromatograph with nitrogen and phosphorus detector (GC-N&P) |
Identification of contaminant in wastewater |
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Gas chromatograph – mass spectrometer |
Identification of contaminant in wastewater |
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Total organic carbon analyzer (TOC) |
Used to measure water quality |
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Discrete analyzer |
Rapid assessment of contaminants and nutrients in water |
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Biological oxygen demand incubator |
BOD measurements |
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Chemical oxygen demand incubator |
COD measurements |
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ACWA Microbiology lab |
NextSeq 500 Desktop Sequencer |
DNA sequencing |
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Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction |
Amplification and quantification of target DNA sequences |
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Epifluoresence microscope |
Visualization and quantification of cellular and molecular targets |
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ACWA Isotope Lab |
Carbon-specific isotope ratio mass spectrometers |
Tracing of the fate and determining the conversion of carbon during treatment |
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Nitrogen-specific isotope ratio mass spectrometers |
Tracing of the fate and determining the conversion of nitrogen during treatment |
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ACWA Aquatic Lab |
Aquatic flow-thru systems ( 8) |
Experimental aquatic toxicology testing with cold and warm water species |
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Aquatic recirculating systems ( 5) |
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Mass embryo production system |
Semi-automated Zebrafish embryo collection system |
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Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction |
Amplification and quantification of target DNA sequences |
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Digital polymerase chain reaction |
Amplification of DNA sequences using molecular counting |
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Multi-mode micro-plate reader |
Bioassay analysis using fluorescence, absorption and luminescence |
Private and public sector research partners
- IBM Canada Ltd.
- Agilent Technologies
Additional information
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Title |
URL |
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U of C research facility opens at city's wastewater treatment plant |