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Water Reclamation Engineering Lab
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The lab uses membrane filtration to reclaim sewage and recover resources and energy from it.
AboutAbout the lab
Turning sewage into a resource through membrane filtration.
The Water Reclamation Engineering Lab studies water reclamation, which cleans polluted water, and ways to make use of the reclaimed water.
Most of its research centers on membrane filtration, which filters water through a membrane with very fine pores.
The lab works on sewage treatment using membrane bioreactors (MBRs) and on recovering the resources and energy contained in sewage.
Key terms
- Membrane filtration
- A method of passing water through a membrane with pores too fine to see, filtering out dirt and microorganisms.
- MBR
- A sewage treatment method (membrane bioreactor) in which a membrane is submerged in a tank where microorganisms break down sewage, and treated water is drawn out by membrane filtration.
- Membrane fouling
- A phenomenon in which substances in water stick to the surface or pores of a membrane and clog it, making it harder for water to pass through.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies the reclamation of polluted water, the use of reclaimed water, and the recovery of resources from water. Its core is membrane filtration, and its work ranges from identifying the causes of membrane clogging to devising cleaning and operating methods and developing technologies that recover energy from sewage.
*Illustrative imageIdentifying the causes of membrane clogging
Aiming for a fundamental solution to membrane fouling, which hinders the spread of membrane filtration, the lab examines the substances responsible in detail using state-of-the-art analytical instruments. It has found that the components responsible vary by river, by season, and by type of membrane.
*Illustrative imageDeveloping membrane cleaning and operating methods
Based on where and by what membrane fouling occurs, the lab explores effective membrane cleaning and pretreatment methods. It is also examining powerful cleaning methods that take advantage of durable membrane materials such as ceramics.
*Illustrative imageEnergy-saving MBRs
One challenge of MBRs is that the aeration used to clean the membranes makes their operating energy somewhat higher than that of the activated sludge process. The lab works on reducing the energy consumption of anaerobic MBRs, which combine anaerobic treatment with membrane filtration and recover energy at the same time.
*Illustrative imageDirect membrane filtration of sewage and energy recovery
Focusing on the fact that much of the organic matter in sewage flows in as particles, the lab studies concentrating organic matter by membrane filtration. It aims to develop powerful, energy-saving membrane cleaning and to recover energy from the concentrated organic matter.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Water Reclamation Engineering Lab include faculty, researchers, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorKatsuki Kimura
- Associate ProfessorAkira Hafuka
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Cutaway of a microfiltration module with hollow fiber membranes at a NEWater plant” Z22 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Identifying the causes of membrane clogging: “Close up view of the membrane ( )” SuSanA Secretariat / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Developing membrane cleaning and operating methods: “Ceramic membrane (crossflow filtration)” Wikiwayman (talk) / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Energy-saving MBRs: “Wastewater UF membrane system, Aquabio” Aquabio Ltd. / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Direct membrane filtration of sewage and energy recovery: “Sludge treatment in anaerobic digesters at a sewage treatment plant in Cottbus” Marcos von Sperling / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Environmental Risk Engineering Lab): “Sedimentation Basin” Fmartinezcl / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Water Quality Conversion Engineering Lab): “Aeration tank activated sludge process STP Bengaluru India” Vraj Acharya, WELL Labs / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Water Environment Conservation Engineering Lab): “Activated sludge ( )” SuSanA Secretariat / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Resource Bioengineering Lab): “Beachrock Varigotti Liguria” Alessio Rovere / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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