A new sensor will measure ammonia and ammonium in water—markers of untreated sewage—using a chemical technique that improves performance tenfold while reducing toxicity and energy use. This matters because a 2021 UK regulation now requires continuous real-time monitoring of these pollutants upstream and downstream of all roughly 30,000 sewage outfalls and treatment works. Existing sensors cannot meet this demand at scale: they are too toxic, too power-hungry, or degrade too quickly for widespread, long-term deployment. The same measurement gap affects aquaculture, where ammonia toxicity threatens fish in recirculating tank systems. If successful, the sensor will be the first to enable routine, affordable, in-situ monitoring of water quality across the UK’s entire wastewater network. Built on a lab-on-chip microfluidic platform already deployed over 200 times and depth-rated to 6,000 metres, the hardware is proven in hostile environments. The project will test prototypes in real-world conditions and feed results back into development. The outcome could transform how regulators and utilities track sewage pollution in real time, rather than relying on spot samples or models.
View original technical description
This collaborative project between ClearWater Sensors Ltd (CWS) and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) addresses a global, and well publicised UK crisis in water quality. It will develop a new sensor that measures both ammonia (NH3) and ammonium (NH4+) in water, which are markers of untreated sewage. They are nutrients used in natural processes, but ammonia is toxic at elevated concentrations. A newly enforced regulation, Section 82 of the environment act UK 2021, requires continuous real-time monitoring of NH3/4 upstream and downstream of all the UK's ~30000 outfalls and sewage works. Measurement is also needed in Aquaculture (particularly in recirculating / tank systems due to toxicity) as well as wider Utilities, Regulator and Scientific markets. To address this opportunity, we propose the first ever sensor using a new chemical technique (assay) which will enable world leading (ten times improvement) performance and longevity whilst reducing reagent toxicity and sensor energy consumption. This will enable widespread use of sensors in regulation and management of water quality for the first time. The sensor hardware will be an adaptation (new optics and fluidic layout) of the lab on chip (LOC) technology developed since 2004, by the NOC / the University of Southampton and commercialised under license by CWS. This LOC technology is a world-leading microfluidic platform for in situ (submersible) chemical sensors that can be deployed remotely, including on autonomous vehicles in hostile environments. Sensors for pH, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, silicate and iron are products offered by CWS, and other sensors are in development. LOC sensors have been successfully deployed over 200 times, are extremely robust (e.g. depth rated to 6000m) and offer world leading metrology performance. We will iteratively test the new sensors in market relevant environments and feedback results to our stakeholders and into our R&D.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know