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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities
Published on: December 25, 2015
Treatment of toilet wastewater for reuse in a membrane bioreactor
1Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology, Duebendorf, Switzerland. marc.boehler@eawag.ch
Abstract:
Toilet wastewater is treated and reused on site at Europe's highest membrane bioreactor (MBR), located in a cable car mountain station in the ski resort of Zermatt. Negative impacts on the sensitive mountain environment are minimised by reusing close to 100% of the treated wastewater for toilet flushing. Besides 100% nitrogen removal, 80% of phosphorus was also eliminated. This paper presents operational results, optimisations of sludge management, decoloration and long-term maintenance of biomass in the very low-loaded summer season. From a global view the experiences and results of the project are of great importance, proposing a solution to a problem existing 100-fold in the Alps as well as in arid regions all over the world: reducing water consumption for sanitation by reuse.
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