About the Project
This project will use mathematical modelling to help optimise an exciting novel biotechnology for cleaning wastewater. The quality and quantity of freshwater has dramatically declined during the 21st century due to significant increase in agriculture, industry and other human activities. Current water treatment technologies are only able to filter a limited range of chemicals and microplastics, require high operational energy and large and expensive infrastructure. Unsurprisingly, the development of affordable and sustainable filter technologies that effectively clean wastewater to the standards required is a global priority for industry and government agencies.
Our colleagues in the Orsini research group in the School of Biosciences are developing an exciting biofiltration technology that uses tiny waterfleas called Daphnia to filter water and consume waste products, thus eliminating the need for costly and complex filters. However, the performance of biofilters like this one can be variable, dependent on fluctuations in environmental conditions such as temperature and rainfall and variations in seasonal medicine use. These changes can greatly affect the density of Daphnia populations and thus, the quality of treated water. Therefore, for the successful implementation of a biofilter technology, it is crucial to be able to ensure that the density of Daphnia populations remains at, or at least near, optimal levels.
The aim of this project is to develop and validate a quantitatively reliable model of the population dynamics of Daphnia. The project will use ordinary, delay and stochastic differential equations to simulate the Daphnia population size under different environmental and wastewater conditions and enable predictions to be made about how to optimise their population size. Applicants would ideally have studied modules in ordinary differential equations, mathematical modelling and/or dynamical systems, but we encourage anyone with a mathematical background to get in touch to find out more by contacting a.tzella@bham.ac.uk and/or s.jabbari@bham.ac.uk.
The student on this project will benefit from a broad training in mathematical modelling, bifurcation analyses and applied statistics and their application in a cutting-edge technology. They will enjoy close interactions with members of the group of mathematical biology and healthcare and gain extensive experience of interdisciplinary collaboration with the Orsini group, which will maximise the impact of the student’s work. The skills that they will develop are highly valuable in academia, government and industry, particularly the environmental sector.
Funding Notes
The University of Birmingham is proud to celebrate its remarkable 125-year journey and announce the launch of a groundbreaking scholarship initiative designed to empower and support Black British researchers in their pursuit of doctoral education.
These newly established 3.5-year scholarships aim to address underrepresentation and create opportunities for talented individuals from diverse backgrounds to excel in academia. You can find out more here: View Website
References
“M. Abdullahi, I. Stead, S. Bennett, R. Orozco, M. Abou-Elwafa Abdallah, S. Jabbari, L. E. Macaskie, A. Tzella, S. Krause, B. Al-Duri, R. G. Lee, B. Herbert, P. Thompson, M. Schalkwyk, S. Getahun, K. D. Dearn, L. Orsini, Harnessing water fleas for water reclamation: A nature-based tertiary wastewater treatment technology, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 905, 2023.
https://research.birmingham.ac.uk/en/publications/harnessing-water-fleas-for-water-reclamation-a-nature-based-terti”
