Research objectives and contentThe effects of the metals Co and Ni on the treatment performance of a continuously operated methanogenic UASB reactor fed with methanol as the substrate will be investigated. The contracted research fellow will carry out a work program to characterize the bioavailable metal fractions in methanogenic granular sludge from an UASB reactor treating a wastewater containing a mixture of heavy metals. Dissolved Ni and Co in the sludge will be discriminated into labile and total sp ecies by the membrane separation techniques as Donnan membrane technique (DMT) and diffusive gradient gel techniques (DGT). These data will be compared with the theoretical metal concentration, as predicted by speciation model (MINEQL+). The granules will be analysed using a sequential metal extraction to distinguish various fractions. Thus, a targeted dosing of heavy metals can lead to an optimisation of the process performance by studying bioreactor performance which would be correlated with the bioavailability of the metals.Training content and expected impact for applicant and hostAccording to applicant knowledge, he is very interested in studying metals bioavailability and mobility in UASB reactors. As he is also very interested to get international experience, working in an international research team will be very helpful. This training position will let him acquire knowledge concerning analytical methods. This will greatly enhance the academic carrier perspectives of the applicant. The host institute will benefit from the expertise in metal speciation, chemical analysis and modelling experience of the applicant. Also, he will bring specific expertise from another scientific field (aquatic chemistry) to the host institute. Moreover, as he anticipates returning to his home institute and continues to work in the scientific area, the established contact via the Marie Curie Fellowship will increase networking with his home institutes.