Research topics

Our clients are national and international governments, industrial partners and (environmental) consultancies. Summarized, our core activities are:

• Fundamental and applied research on the processes and conditions that cause leaching of contaminants from a variety of materials;
• Development of laboratory test methods to test materials for their leaching properties;
• Development of methods for the characterization of the different chemical forms of contaminants that determine their mobility and toxicity;
• Development of methods to determine the properties of natural organic matter, which plays a key role in the leaching and transport of both inorganic and organic contaminants in the environment;
• Development of models that can be used to predict leaching of contaminants on short and long time scales. Such models are developed in ORCHESTRA, a computer program for modelling (geo)chemical reaction and mass transport processes;
• The development of the database/expert system LeachXS, a tool that allows assessment of the leaching properties of materials in practice, based on a combination of measurements, model applications, and regulatory criteria.

Practical applications of our research include:

• The use of tools and expertise for national and international policy development (e.g., Dutch Soil Quality Decree, EU Construction Products Directive, EU Landfill Directive);
• National and international standardization of leaching test methods through active participation in working groups of NEN (Dutch Standardization Institute), CEN and ISO in the fields of construction products, soil and waste;
• For our clients we perform testing of materials (e.g., NEN7373 , NEN7375, EN12457, TS14405, TS14997 etc.), and investigate options to improve the leaching properties of specific materials;
• Investigating technical options for mineral sequestration of carbon dioxide in alkaline industrial by-products;
• Development of sustainable landfilling concepts (see also the website 'Duurzaam Storten');
• Presenting our work to colleagues as well as to the general public.