Real-world water, on the bench.

We're building a benchtop rig that tests new water-filtration materials against realistic river freshwater, so the ones that work in the lab also work in the field.

A vertically integrated project at the University of Bath

Clean tap water isn't something to take for granted.

As one may predict, England's tap water passes almost every test. You can safely drink it.

But... The rivers and reservoirs it comes from are under growing pressure.

Treatment works must make safe water from dirtier, scarcer sources, including micropollutants like PFAS, pharmaceuticals and heavy metals, all of which survive conventional treatment. The government is overhauling the sector, and Ofwat is to be replaced by a single new regulator. New filtration materials will be part of the answer, but only if they can be tested properly.

All sources for this section

Lab results don't always survive the river.

Filtration materials can perform well in the lab and then fail in the field. Real freshwater, with its mix of organic matter, microbes, and changing flows and temperatures, is hard to recreate. Our platform brings those conditions to the bench.

How it works

Diagram of the test rig Test solution is pumped from a supply bottle, through an upstream sensor, a filtration chamber with three stages, and a downstream sensor, into a collection bottle. A chiller or heater controls temperature. Sensor strips are fed from reels and replaced every 24 hours. A potentiostat reads the sensors and sends live data to a laptop. Chiller / heater Pump Test solution Temp, O₂ C1 C2 C3 Filtration chamber In Out Used strips Potentiostat Desktop app Collected

  1. Feed

    Pumps push a test solution designed to mimic real freshwater through the rig. Flow, pressure and temperature are all adjustable.

  2. Test

    Materials sit in a modular chamber with up to three stages, so they can be tested alone or in series. These can be membranes, cartridge filters, or enzymes and microbes fixed onto hydrogels and porous scaffolds.

  3. Sense

    Printed electrode sensors before and after the chamber compare what goes in with what comes out. They're designed to detect heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, copper), pH, and optionally nitrate, ammonium and chloride. Temperature and dissolved-oxygen sensors run alongside.

  4. Refresh

    Sensors get coated with biofilm over time. A roll-to-roll mechanism swaps in a fresh sensor every 24 hours.

  5. Stream

    A modified open-source potentiostat streams live readings to our desktop app, which also controls the pumps, valves and temperature.

Who it's for

  1. Direct users

    Materials and membrane developers, such as R&D labs and treatment and technology companies.

  2. Downstream

    Water utilities and regulators, who approve materials and are responsible for water quality.

  3. Ultimately

    Freshwater ecosystems and everyone who relies on clean water.

Year 1 goals

  • Build the flow rig.
  • Develop the self-replacing sensor module.
  • Develop a multiplexed screen-printed electrode.
  • Modify the open-source Rodeostat potentiostat and design a board for potentiometric measurements.
  • Write the desktop app.
  • Write the system controls.
  • Validate the system with known standards.

Timeline

  1. Milestone 1 14 October – 4 November 2026

    • Schematics for circuit boards, sensors and rig complete
    • Bill of materials for each subteam
    • Validation protocols agreed
    • Materials ordered
    • Software requirements defined

  2. Milestone 2 4 – 25 November 2026

    • First build of the flow rig complete
    • Potentiostat modifications complete and ready for testing
    • Roll-to-roll chamber built
    • Membrane design confirmed, lab access verified and materials ordered

  3. Milestone 3 25 November – 11 December 2026

    • Troubleshooting and debugging
    • Validation of sensors and potentiostat boards
    • Validation of variable flow rate and pressure
    • First membrane tested on the rig
    • Issues identified

Team

Get in touch

Questions about the project? Email the team.