Mariska Ronteltap

Mariska Ronteltap holds a Masters' degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Wageningen, the Netherlands and is about to finish her PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Switzerland.

She has a background in biological wastewater treatment, both municipal and industrial systems, with a focus on the biotechnological aspects.

Her PhD work concentrated around urine separation as a novel approach in the field of wastewater technology, with a strong chemical focus including thermodynamic modelling. Her practical knowledge in the field of struvite precipitation from urine is also helpful at research pilot projects in the Netherlands.

At UNESCO-IHE these skills are applied within the field of nutrient recovery, sustainable sanitation and ecosan. By tying up to international organisations and platforms, she contributes to global knowledge in the field of sustainable sanitation and brings this knowledge back to the Institute. She is the course coordinator of the online course on ecosan. In the Netherlands, she is responsible for the functioning of the Urine Expertise Group (http://www.stowa.nl/Thema_s/Nieuwe_Sanitatie/index.aspx)

Additionally, she is one of the team members of a novel project related to sanitation for the urban poor called SCUSA: an Integrated Approach to address the Sanitation Crisis in Unsewered Slum Areas in African mega-cities. In this project an interdisciplinary team of hydrologists, sanitary engineers and social/economical specialists will jointly study sanitation options suitable and acceptable for slum areas in sub-Saharan Africa.

• Publications