Wastewater plants employ a variety of effective and established processes to treat sewage and wastewater. As yet, however, there is no ideal, uniformly recognized method for removing trace substances. Researchers from the Fraun-hofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT are seeking to change this. In a project known as ZeroTrace, they are pursuing an integrated approach that combines their very own activated carbon composite with a newly developed electrical regeneration process. The result is a method that promises efficiency, sustainability and large-scale viability.