Wolfgang Gernjak

Institut Català de Recerca de l'Aigua

Engineering Sciences

2002 MSc in Analytical and Physical Chemistry from Vienna University of Technology, Austria. 2006 PhD in Land and Water Management from BOKU Vienna, Austria. 2000-2008 External Research Staff & post-doc, Plataforma Solar de Almería, Spain - Solar advanced oxidation & desalination. 2008-2014 Senior research fellow, The University of Queensland, Australia - Group leader: Drinking and recycled water. 2014-2015 Ramon & Cajal research fellow, Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA) - Group leader: Water Supply and Advanced Treatment. 2015- ICREA Research Professor at Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA) - Group leader: Water Supply and Advanced Treatment.


Research interests

I aim to innovate the ways we treat water applied to water reuse, desalination, and drinking water to realize a vision for smart and water sensitive cities and societies. Specifically, I am an expert on numerous novel advanced oxidation processes, membrane filtration such as reverse osmosis or membrane distillation, and solar technologies addressing the water-energy nexus. The focus of my research is on technology innovation. For example, I research novel membrane processes and applications such as forward osmosis. I am also deeply interested in exploring the possibilities offered by employing novel UV light sources based on the LED technology. My research on water treatment technology is typically strongly connected with an emphasis on controlling water quality hazards to end-users, including trace organic contaminants, disinfection byproducts, and also pathogens.

Selected publications

- de Vera GA, Gernjak W & Radjenovic J 2017, 'Predicting reactivity of model DOM compounds towards chlorine with mediated electrochemical oxidation', Water Research, 114, 113 - 121.

- Liu P, Gernjak W & Keller J 2017, 'Long-term performance of enhanced-zero valent iron for drinking water treatment: A lab-scale study', Chemical Engineering Journal, 315, 124 - 131.

- Rippy MA, Deletic A, Black J, Aryal R, Lampard J, Tang JY, McCarthy D, Kolotelo P, Sidhu J & Gernjak W 2017, 'Pesticide occurrence and spatio-temporal variability in urban run-off across Australia', Water Research, 115, 245 - 255.

- de Vera GA, Gernjak W, Weinberg H, Farre MJ, Keller J & von Gunten U 2017, 'Kinetics and mechanisms of nitrate and ammonium formation during ozonation of dissolved organic nitrogen', Water Research, 108, 451 - 461.

Selected research activities

Oral presentations at 

- 3rd International Conference on Desalination with Membranes, Gran Canaria, Spain, April 2017.

- 10th IWA Micropol & Ecohazard Conference, Vienna, Austria, September 2017.

Invited presentations at:

- Patras, Greece, Workshop of the NEREUS COST Action 1403: New and Emerging Challenges and Opportunities in Water Reuse.

- Lleida, Spain, Invited talk to the General Public in the scope of the Sustainability Week.

Reviewed PhD dissertations from the University of Ghent, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Universidad Rovira Virgili.