The vision for the Sustainable Urban Water and Environmental Engineering, SUWEE, research area is to conduct excellent and high-quality research and teaching on contaminated waters and materials, stormwater, and climate adaptation for a sustainable and resilient society. Realising this vision requires a creative, collaborative and equitable work environment. Our strength is the use and combinations of experimental, digital, and qualitative approaches to develop solutions and processes.
Our research
Research challenge 1
How are runoff water, particles, and pollutants transported from roads and urban surfaces to soil, sediment, and aquatic environments?
Understanding the transport processes of particles and pollutants is essential for achieving environmental objectives and developing remediation techniques. Key knowledge includes how nanoparticles, microplastics, metals, organic pollutants, and nutrients disperse from roads and urban surfaces. Furthermore, the research examines the transport of stormwater pollution and microplastics into sediments and through soils in ditches, stormwater systems, and bioretention filters. Studies also investigate how climate change, particularly droughts followed by intense rainfall, affects the transport of microplastics and pollutants in water, sediments, and soil. Tools include flow-proportional stormwater and soil-water sampling, as well as sorption and leaching studies conducted in field pilots and laboratories. A pilot project for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of water flow and particle transport in stormwater systems is currently under development.
Research challenge 2
How can nature-based solutions or other innovative technologies be developed for the treatment of polluted water and materials by effectively removing pollutants and increasing recycling?
Pollutants from soil, sediment, landfill leachates, and stormwater, although not acutely toxic, cause significant contamination over time as microplastics, metals, and persistent pollutants accumulate. Therefore, effective treatment is necessary. Urban materials such as waste incineration ash and stormwater sediments are often enriched with metals and microplastics that can be recovered during treatment. In this research, innovative treatment technologies such as washing of soil, sediment, and ash, density separation, and advanced oxidation techniques—including photoelectrocatalysis, electrolysis, and Fenton's reagent—are developed and tested at a laboratory scale for the degradation of organic pollutants and the recovery of metals and microplastics from contaminated materials. Nature-based solutions, such as bioretention filters enhanced with sorption materials, aim to treat the mixture of particles and pollutants in runoff from roads and urban surfaces. These solutions are developed through pilot field studies and laboratory experiments. Large-scale modelling, combined with sensor techniques, can be utilised alongside knowledge from the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence to enhance understanding of treatment processes and optimal placement strategies.
Research challenge 3
How can society effectively implement solutions to enhance its resilience and mitigate the impacts of climate change and urban pollution?
Increasing rainfall due to climate change and the resulting flooding risks pose significant threat to Nordic cities. However, the implementation of solutions is often hindered by a complex planning and decision-making process. This research seeks to establish a framework for municipalities and stakeholders to implement effective and sustainable solutions for climate adaptation and pollution prevention. The research adopts a multi-disciplinary approach, utilising tools such as hydrological modelling, multi-criteria decision analysis and qualitative methods to identify solutions and support the development of effective processes and policies in collaboration with stakeholders. In the area of climate adaptation, we perform research on local and urban scale solutions with a focus on flood prevention, multi-functional solutions and urban planning processes in collaboration with Swedish municipal and regional actors. Additionally, the researchers collaborate with the Port of Gothenburg to investigate innovative methods for treating polluted sediments, including life cycle assessment (LCA) and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA).
Laboratory facilities
The Water Environmental Engineering (WEE) Lab is a research and education facility that provides infrastructure for experimental research focused on water, the environment, environmental biotechnology, energy materials and resources, and sustainability.
Research Area Members
Research Area Leader
Core members
- Full Professor, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Adjunct Professor, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Professor, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Adjunct Professor, Geology and Geotechnics, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Postdoc, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Doctoral Student, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Doctoral Student, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Doctoral Student, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Doctoral Student, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Doctoral Student, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
Affiliated members
- Full Professor, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Professor, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Researcher, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Adjunct Professor, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Research Specialist, Water Environment Technology, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Full Professor, Geology and Geotechnics, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Head of Unit, Geology and Geotechnics, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Researcher, Geology and Geotechnics, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Postdoc, Geology and Geotechnics, Architecture and Civil Engineering
Recent publications
Below is a list of the latest publications with the authorship of the core members in the SUWEE Research Area:
2025
Tyre wear particles and metals in highway roadside ditches: Occurrence and potential transport pathways
Maria Polukarova, Elly Lucia Gaggini, Elisabeth Rødland, Ekaterina Sokolova, Mia Bondelind, Mats Gustafsson, Ann-Margret Strömvall, Yvonne Andersson-Sköld Environmental Pollution,125971
Enhanced remediation of organotin compounds and metal(loid)s in polluted sediments: Chemical stabilization with mining-wastes and nZVI versus physical soil washing
A.M. Díaz, D. Baragaño, J.M. Menéndez-Aguado, A. Norén, K. Karlfeldt Fedje, E. Espín, J.R. Gallego
Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 373,123602,
Modelling PFAS transport in Lake Ekoln: Implications for drinking water safety in the Stockholm region
Ekaterina Sokolova, Prajwol Prajapati, Frida Ekman, Namika Maharjan, Sandra Lindqvist, Johan Kjellin, Anna Karlsson, Mia Bondelind, Lutz Ahrens, Stephan Köhler
Environmental Pollution, Volume 367, 125581
High voltage selective fragmentation on Swedish mineral fraction of incineration bottom ash (MIBA) – An exploratory study on metal and material recovery
Lisa Dacklin, Christina Lee, Karin Karlfeldt Fedje, Alexander Weh, Andreas Glauser, Raul Grönholm, Fredrik Björckebaum, Magnus Evertsson
Waste Management, Volume 194, Pages 270-281
2024
Assessment of fine and coarse tyre wear particles along a highway stormwater system and in receiving waters: Occurrence and transport
Elly Lucia Gaggini, Maria Polukarova, Mia Bondelind, Elisabeth Rødland, Ann-Margret Strömvall, Yvonne Andersson-Sköld, Ekaterina Sokolova
Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 367,121989
Comprehensive approach to national tire wear emissions: Challenges and implications, Maria Polukarova, Mattias Hjort, Mats Gustafsson
Science of The Total Environment, Volume 924, 171391
Bark and biochar in horizontal flow filters effectively remove microplastics from stormwater, Gabriella Rullander, Claudia Lorenz, Ann-Margret Strömvall, Jes Vollertsen, Sahar S. Dalahmeh, Environmental Pollution, Volume 356, 124335
Removal and release of microplastics and other environmental pollutants during the start-up of bioretention filters treating stormwater
Glenn Johansson, Karin Karlfeldt Fedje, Oskar Modin, Marie Haeger-Eugensson, Wolfgang Uhl, Yvonne Andersson-Sköld, Ann-Margret Strömvall
Journal of Hazardous Materials, Volume 468, 133532
The effects of electrochemical pretreatment and curing environment on strength and leaching of stabilized/solidified contaminated sediment
Anna Norén, Ann-Margret Strömvall, Rauch, Sebastien Rauch, Yvonne Andersson-Sköld, Oskar Modin, Karin Karlfeldt Fedje
Environmental Science and Pollution Research 31, 5866–5880
Zinc speciation in fly ash from MSWI using XAS - novel insights and implications
Jenny Rissler, Karin Karlfeldt Fedje, Konstantin Klementiev, Burçak Ebin, Charlotte Nilsson, Haakon M. Rui, Tone M. Klufthaugen, Simone Sala, Inge Johansson
Journal of Hazardous Materials, Volume 477,135203
Lateral Track Buckling in Sweden: Insights from Operators and Infrastructure Managers, Mirzanamadi, Raheb, Erik Nyberg, Peter Torstensson, and Yvonne Andersson-Sköld
CivilEng 5, no. 1: 136-149
Publications
In Chalmers’ research portal you will find publications from the members of SUWEE.
Projects
In Chalmers’ research portal you will find projects from the members of SUWEE.