Master Thesis in water quality
Quality Assurance
Gothenburg, Sweden
How do we know when laundry water is suitable for reuse? At Mimbly, we are looking for one or two bachelor’s or master’s student to help turn existing research and test results into better evidence for water reuse in our Mimbox system.
Mimbly develops technology for reusing laundry water. We have studied water quality, disinfection and sensor measurements in the lab and in earlier trials. A recent review brings that work together and highlights the next questions: how storage affects microbial growth, how to verify disinfection, and how well sensor readings reflect water quality and the result on the laundry.
The Project:
You will build on this review, choose a focused research question and design experiments to investigate it. The goal is to give Mimbly a stronger basis for deciding which water to reuse, how to store it and how to assess its quality. Two possible directions are outlined below. You would focus on a defined part of one direction, with the scope adapted to your degree and thesis requirements.
Microbiology and storage:
What happens to recycled laundry water during storage, and how can we tell whether disinfection is working?
You could investigate how storage time, temperature and water composition affect microbial growth and disinfection performance. Depending on the scope, the work could combine microbiological analyses with measurements of free and combined chlorine and pH, or examine biofilm formation. Another question is how to achieve effective disinfection while limiting effects on coloured textiles.
A good fit if you enjoy microbiology, water chemistry, experimental design and interpreting laboratory results.
Sensors and laundry quality:
When should the system accept or reject water for reuse? Mimbox uses different measurements, but the current thresholds need further validation together with the sensors used in the system.
You could compare sensor readings with reference measurements in real laundry water and investigate how turbidity affects colour readings. A focused study could then test how selected water quality parameters relate to colour transfer or changes in textile appearance, including on coloured polyester. Your results would help assess which measurements and thresholds support reuse decisions.
A good fit if you enjoy measurement technology, water chemistry, data analysis and linking measurements to practical performance.