Ben Van den Akker

Research Interests

Health and ecological risk assessment Industrial Microbiology Wastewater Treatment Processes Water and waste services Water recycling services (incl. sewage and greywater) Water Treatment Processes

APrf Ben Van den Akker

Enterprise Fellow

School of Civil Engineering and Construction

College of Engineering and Information Technology

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Since 2008 Dr Ben van den Akker has pursued a hybrid research career within both academia and industry. He joined UniSA in 2023 as an Enterprise Fellow within STEM. His research seeks to improve the technical, economic and environmental performance of wastewater treatment plants and water reclamation schemes. Ben's research also focuses on health aspects of water quality, which includes the use of microbial risk assessment principles in the regulation and management of urban water systems. Ben has also gained significant practical experience in the implementation of research outcomes which has enhanced the sustainability of wastewater treatment plants, improved the public health safety of water recycling schemes and informed policy. Currently, Ben is a member of the NHMRC Recreational Water Quality Advisory Committee.

Date Institution name Country Title
2003 - 2008 Flinders University Australia PhD

Year Citation
2025 Cooper Beknazarova, M., van den Akker, B., & Ashbolt, N. J. (2025). Free-living protozoa as important drivers of antimicrobial resistance in engineered water systems and their ecological niches. ACS ES&T Water, online(9), 4985-4996.
DOI
2025 Khedher, M., Phogat, V., Chow, C., Palmer, N., Anese, J., Tucker, A., . . . Rameezdeen, R. (2025). Evaluation of current inland desalination of moderately saline brackish groundwater for expansion of irrigated agriculture. Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 29(101449), 1-18.
DOI Scopus1 WoS2
2025 Adiyani, L., Ross, K. E., Van den Akker, B., & Whiley, H. (2025). Public Health Risks Associated with Aerosolised Pathogens from Non-potable Applications of Recycled Water. Environmental Processes, 12(4), 29 pages.
DOI
2024 Reeve, P., Marshall, G., Zhang, P., Thwaites, B., & van den Akker, B. (2024). Pathogen validation of small- and large-scale recycled water plants utilizing various clarification and media filtration technologies. Journal of Water and Health, 22(11), 2132-2145.
DOI
2024 Lu, Y., Liu, T., Hu, S., Yuan, Z., Dwyer, J., Akker, B. V. D., . . . Guo, J. (2024). Coupling Partial Nitritation, Anammox and n-DAMO in a membrane aerated biofilm reactor for simultaneous dissolved methane and nitrogen removal. Water Research, 255(121511), 11 pages.
DOI Scopus17 WoS17 Europe PMC10
2024 Krohn, C., Jansriphibul, K., Dias, D. A., Rees, C. A., Akker, B. V. D., Boer, J. C., . . . Ball, A. S. (2024). Dead in the water – Role of relic DNA and primer choice for targeted sequencing surveys of anaerobic sewage sludge intended for biological monitoring. Water Research, 253(121354), 15 pages.
DOI Scopus7 WoS7 Europe PMC5
2023 Zheng, M., Li, H., Duan, H., Liu, T., Wang, Z., Zhao, J., . . . Yuan, Z. (2023). One-year stable pilot-scale operation demonstrates high flexibility of mainstream anammox application. Water Research X, 19(100166), 8 pages.
DOI Scopus92 WoS85 Europe PMC43
2022 Krohn, C., Khudur, L., Dias, D. A., van den Akker, B., Rees, C. A., Crosbie, N. D., . . . Ball, A. S. (2022). The role of microbial ecology in improving the performance of anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13(1079136), 23 pages.
DOI Scopus28 WoS25 Europe PMC14
2022 Li, K., Duan, H., Liu, L., Qiu, R., van den Akker, B., Ni, B. J., . . . Ye, L. (2022). An Integrated First Principal and Deep Learning Approach for Modeling Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Wastewater Treatment Plants. Environmental Science and Technology, 56(4), 2816-2826.
DOI Scopus81 WoS70 Europe PMC29
2022 Short, M. D., van den Akker, B., Monis, P., & Donner, E. (2022). Managing emerging pathogen risks in recycled water. Microbiology Australia, 43(4), 177-182.
DOI Scopus3 WoS2
2021 Thwaites, B. J., Stuetz, R., Short, M., Reeve, P., Alvarez-Gaitan, J. P., Dinesh, N., . . . van den Akker, B. (2021). Analysis of nitrous oxide emissions from aerobic granular sludge treating high saline municipal wastewater. Science of the Total Environment, 756(143653), 11 pages.
DOI Scopus16 WoS14 Europe PMC5
2020 Duan, H., van den Akker, B., Thwaites, B. J., Peng, L., Herman, C., Pan, Y., . . . Ye, L. (2020). Mitigating nitrous oxide emissions at a full-scale wastewater treatment plant. Water Research, 185, 11 pages.
DOI Scopus106 WoS92 Europe PMC41
2019 Yadav, M. K., Short, M. D., Gerber, C., van den Akker, B., Aryal, R., & Saint, C. P. (2019). Occurrence, removal and environmental risk of markers of five drugs of abuse in urban wastewater systems in South Australia. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(33), 33816-33826.
DOI Scopus21 WoS16 Europe PMC10
2019 Yadav, M. K., Gerber, C., Saint, C. P., Van den Akker, B., & Short, M. D. (2019). Understanding the Removal and Fate of Selected Drugs of Abuse in Sludge and Biosolids from Australian Wastewater Treatment Operations. Engineering, 5(5), 872-879.
DOI Scopus18 WoS17
2019 Yadav, M. K., Short, M. D., Gerber, C., Awad, J., van den Akker, B., & Saint, C. P. (2019). Removal of emerging drugs of addiction by wastewater treatment and water recycling processes and impacts on effluent-associated environmental risk. Science of the Total Environment, 680, 13-22.
DOI Scopus40 WoS29 Europe PMC19
2019 Mai, L., Lian, Y., van den Akker, B., & Fallowfield, H. J. (2019). Nitrification performance of high rate nitrifying trickling filters at low ammonia concentrations: does the aspect ratio matter?. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(20), 20520-20529.
DOI Scopus4 WoS2 Europe PMC1
2019 Krysiak-Baltyn, K., Cavalida, R., Thwaites, B., Reeve, P. J., Scales, P. J., Van den Akker, B., . . . Gras, S. L. (2019). Comparison of physical characteristics and dewatering behaviour between granular and floccular sludges generated from the same sewage source. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 29(100785), 12 pages.
DOI Scopus20 WoS17
2018 Thwaites, B. J., Short, M. D., Stuetz, R. M., Reeve, P. J., Alvarez Gaitan, J. P., Dinesh, N., & van den Akker, B. (2018). Comparing the performance of aerobic granular sludge versus conventional activated sludge for microbial log removal and effluent quality: Implications for water reuse. Water Research, 145, 442-452.
DOI Scopus50 WoS41 Europe PMC20
2018 Hegab, H. M., ElMekawy, A., van Den Akker, B., Ginic Markovic, M., Saint, C., Newcombe, G., & Pant, D. (2018). Innovative graphene microbial platforms for domestic wastewater treatment. Reviews in environmental science and biotechnology, 17(1), 147-158.
DOI Scopus22 WoS18
2018 Thwaites, B. J., Van Den Akker, B., Reeve, P. J., Short, M. D., Dinesh, N., Alvarez Gaitan, J. P., & Stuetz, R. (2018). Ecology and performance of aerobic granular sludge treating high-saline municipal wastewater. Water Science and Technology, 77(4), 1107-1114.
DOI Scopus12 WoS10 Europe PMC4
2017 King, B., Fanok, S., Phillips, R., Lau, M., van den Akker, B., & Monis, P. (2017). Cryptosporidium attenuation across the wastewater treatment train: Recycled water fit for purpose. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 83(5), 1-18.
DOI Scopus27 WoS22 Europe PMC17
2017 Thwaites, B. J., Reeve, P., Dinesh, N., Short, M. D., & Van Den Akker, B. (2017). Comparison of an anaerobic feed and split anaerobic-aerobic feed on granular sludge development, performance and ecology. Chemosphere, 172, 408-417.
DOI Scopus23 WoS20 Europe PMC8
2017 Carvajal, G., Branch, A., Sisson, S., Roser, D., van den Akker, B., Monis, P., . . . Khan, S. (2017). Virus removal by ultrafiltration: understanding long-term performance change by application of Bayesian analysis. Water Research, 122, 269-279.
DOI Scopus20 WoS20 Europe PMC9
2017 Yadav, M. K., Short, M. D., Aryal, R., Gerber, C., van den Akker, B., & Saint, C. P. (2017). Occurrence of illicit drugs in water and wastewater and their removal during wastewater treatment. Water research, 124, 713-727.
DOI Scopus107 WoS88 Europe PMC51
2017 Reeve, P. J., Regel, R., Le Moigne, I., van den Akker, B., Monis, P., Dreyfus, J., . . . Brehant, A. (2017). Evaluating membrane performance in recycled water treatment plants for assets replacement strategy. Water Science and Technology, 76(11), 2941-2948.
DOI Scopus2 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2016 Chahal, C., van den Akker, B., Young, F., Franco, C., Blackbeard, J., & Monis, P. (2016). Pathogen and particle associations in wastewater: significance and implications for treatment and disinfection processes. Advances in applied microbiology, 97, 63-119.
DOI Scopus217 WoS165 Europe PMC82
2016 Reeve, P., Regel, R., Dreyfus, J., Monis, P., Lau, M., King, B., & Van Den Akker, B. (2016). Virus removal of new and aged UF membranes at full-scale in a wastewater reclamation plant. Environmental science: water research and technology, 2(6), 1014-1021.
DOI Scopus18 WoS18
2016 Pan, Y., Ye, L., van den Akker, B., Ganigue Pages, R., Musenze, R., & Yuan, Z. (2016). Sludge-drying lagoons: a potential significant methane source in wastewater treatment plants. Environmental Science & Technology, 50(3), 1368-1375.
DOI Scopus12 WoS7 Europe PMC5
2016 Reeve, P., Mouilleron, I., Chuang, H., Thwaites, B., Hyde, K., Dinesh, N., . . . van den Akker, B. (2016). Effect of feed starvation on side-stream anammox activity and key microbial populations. Journal of Environmental Management, 171, 121-127.
DOI Scopus27 WoS22 Europe PMC8
2016 Pan, Y., van den Akker, B., Ye, L., Ni, B., Watts, S., Reid, K., & Yuan, Z. (2016). Unravelling the spatial variation of nitrous oxide emissions from a step-feed plug-flow full scale wastewater treatment plant. Scientific Reports, 6(20792), 1-10.
DOI Scopus52 WoS38 Europe PMC7
2016 Mai, L., van den Akker, B., Du, J., Kookana, R., & Fallowfield, H. (2016). Impact of exogenous organic carbon on the removal of chemicals of concern in the high rate nitrifying trickling filters. Journal of Environmental Management, 174, 7-13.
DOI Scopus12 WoS11 Europe PMC3
2016 Mai, L., van den Akker, B., Du, J., Kookana, R., & Fallowfield, H. (2016). Removal of chemicals of concern by high rate nitrifying trickling filters. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, 91(12), 3070-3078.
DOI Scopus14 WoS12
2016 Trinh, T., van den Akker, B., Coleman, H. M., Stuetz, R. M., Drewes, J. E., Le-Clech, P., & Khan, S. J. (2016). Seasonal variations in fate and removal of trace organic chemical contaminants while operating a full-scale membrane bioreactor. Science of the Total Environment, 550, 176-183.
DOI Scopus77 WoS74 Europe PMC35
2015 van den Akker, B., Reid, K., Middlemiss, K., & Krampe, J. (2015). Evaluation of granular sludge for secondary treatment of saline municipal sewage. Journal of Environmental Management, 157, 139-145.
DOI Scopus30 WoS29 Europe PMC8
2015 Ni, B., Pan, Y., van den Akker, B., Ye, L., & Yuan, Z. (2015). Full-scale modeling explaining large spatial variations of nitrous oxide fluxes in a step-feed plug-flow wastewater treatment reactor. Environmental Science and Technology, 49(15), 9176-9184.
DOI Scopus64 WoS57 Europe PMC33
2015 Short, M. D., Van Den Akker, B., & Regel, R. (2015). Benchmarking the energy-health nexus for more efficient water recycling operations. Water, 42(3), 68-74.
2014 ROSER, D., VAN DEN AKKER, B., BOASE, S., HAAS, C., ASHBOLT, N., & RICE, S. (2014). Pseudomonas aeruginosa dose response and bathing water infection. Epidemiology and Infection, 142(3), 449-462.
DOI Scopus34 WoS29 Europe PMC21
2014 Nothrop, S., Richardson, D., Van Leeuwen, J., Machin, M., Theunissen, K., Watkins, T., & Van Den Akker, B. (2014). Zoogloeal viscous bulking in a Pinus radiata TMP/ONROMG recycled fibre newsprint activated sludge plant. Appita Journal, 67(4), 302-308.
Scopus1 WoS1
2014 Roser, D. J., Van Den Akker, B., Boase, S., Haas, C. N., Ashbolt, N. J., & Rice, S. A. (2014). Dose-response algorithms for water-borne Pseudomonas aeruginosa folliculitis. Epidemiology and Infection, 760(7), 1524-1537.
DOI Scopus14 WoS12 Europe PMC5
2014 Van den Akker, B., Trinh, T., Coleman, H. M., Stuetz, R. M., Le-Clech, P., & Khan, S. J. (2014). Validation of a full-scale membrane bioreactor and the impact of membrane cleaning on the removal of microbial indicators. Bioresource Technology, 155, 432-437.
DOI Scopus39 WoS34 Europe PMC17
2013 Whiley, H., van den Akker, B., Giglio, S., & Bentham, R. (2013). The role of environmental reservoirs in human campylobacteriosis. International Journal of Research and Public Health, 10(11), 5886-5907.
DOI Scopus132 WoS127 Europe PMC92
2013 Short, M., Abell, G., Bodrossy, L., & van den Akker, B. (2013). Application of a novel functional gene microarray to probe the functional ecology of ammonia oxidation in nitrifying activated sludge. PLoS One, 8(10), e77139-1-e77139-11.
DOI Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC6
2012 Rice, S. A., Van Den Akker, B., Pomati, F., & Roser, D. (2012). A risk assessment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in swimming pools: A review. Journal of Water and Health, 10(2), 181-196.
DOI Scopus50 WoS44 Europe PMC24
2012 Trinh, T., Van Den Akker, B., Stuetz, R. M., Coleman, H. M., Le-Clech, P., & Khan, S. J. (2012). Removal of trace organic chemical contaminants by a membrane bioreactor. Water Science and Technology, 66(9), 1856-1863.
DOI Scopus93 WoS70 Europe PMC35
2012 Trinh, T., van den Akker, B., Coleman, H. M., Stuetz, R. M., Le-Clech, P., & Khan, S. J. (2012). Removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals and microbial indicators by a decentralised membrane bioreactor for water reuse. Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination, 2(2), 67-73.
DOI Scopus20 WoS21
2011 Van Den Akker, B., Whiffin, V., Cox, P., Beatson, P., Ashbolt, N. J., & Roser, D. J. (2011). Estimating the risk from sewage treatment plant effluent in the Sydney catchment area. Water Science and Technology, 63(8), 1707-1715.
DOI Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC3
2011 Van den Akker, B., Holmes, M., Pearce, P., Cromar, N., & Fallowfield, H. (2011). Structure of nitrifying biofilms in a high-rate trickling filter designed for potable water pre-treatment. Water Research, 45(11), 3489-3498.
DOI Scopus35 WoS35 Europe PMC17
2010 Van Den Akker, B., Holmes, M., Short, M. D., Cromar, N. J., & Fallowfield, H. J. (2010). Application of high rate nitrifying trickling filters to remove low concentrations of ammonia from reclaimed municipal wastewater. Water Science and Technology, 61(10), 2425-2432.
DOI Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC1
2010 Van Den Akker, B., Beard, H., Kaeding, U., Giglio, S., & Short, M. D. (2010). Exploring the relationship between viscous bulking and ammonia-oxidiser abundance in activated sludge: A comparison of conventional and IFAS systems. Water Research, 44(9), 2919-2929.
DOI Scopus54 WoS44 Europe PMC26
2010 Yamamoto, A., Short, M. D., Van Den Akker, B., Cromar, N. J., & Fallowfield, H. J. (2010). Nitrification potential in waste stabilisation ponds: Comparison of a secondary and tertiary pond system. Water Science and Technology, 61(3), 781-788.
DOI Scopus3 WoS2 Europe PMC1
2010 Klein, M., Brown, L., van den Akker, B., Peters, G. M., Stuetz, R. M., & Roser, D. J. (2010). Monitoring bacterial indicators and pathogens in cattle feedlot waste by real-time PCR. Water Research, 44(5), 1381-1388.
DOI Scopus18 WoS19 Europe PMC14
2010 Van Den Akker, B., Holmes, M., Cromar, N., & Fallowfield, H. (2010). The impact of organic carbon on the performance of a high rate nitrifying trickling filter designed to pre-treat potable water. Water Science and Technology, 61(7), 1875-1883.
DOI Scopus6 WoS5 Europe PMC1
2008 van den Akker, B., Holmes, M., Cromar, N., & Fallowfield, H. (2008). Application of high rate nitrifying trickling filters for potable water treatment. Water Research, 42(17), 4514-4524.
DOI Scopus44 WoS45 Europe PMC16
2008 Van Den Akker, B., Martyn, H., & Kaeding, U. (2008). Viscous bulking: A full-scale investigation at three activated sludge plants. Water, 35(5), 79-82.
Scopus3

Year Citation
2013 Nothrop, S., Richardson, D., Van Leeuwen, J., Machin, M., Theunissen, K., Watkins, T., & Van Den Akker, B. (2013). Zoogloeal viscous bulking in a Pinus radiata TMP/ONP: OMG recycled fibre newsprint activated sludge plant. In Appita Annual Conference (pp. 152-158).
Scopus1

  • Bayesian Network Models for Effective AMR Management in Water Systems through to various customer uses, CRC SAAFE Limited, 04/11/2024 - 04/11/2028

  • Development of QMRA Methods for AMR, CRC SAAFE Limited, 01/04/2025 - 30/10/2028

  • Applying quantitative microbial risk assessment, epidemiological modelling, and Bayesian Network models to facilitate AMR management in wastewater services, water reuse and biosolids/composts usage, CRC SAAFE Limited, 01/07/2024 - 06/07/2028

  • Selecting a Rapid Point-of-Care Diagnostic Tool for Detecting Listeria monocytogenes in Environmental Reservoirs for Risk Management, CRC SAAFE Limited, 10/10/2025 - 10/10/2026

  • Strengthening Understanding of Regional Community Wastewater Management Scheme Performance, Local Government Association of South Australia, 01/11/2025 - 30/06/2026

  • How safe is roof-harvested rainwater? An investigation of pathogenic and resistant bacteria, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), 06/06/2025 - 30/06/2026

  • Enhancing Nutrient Removal and Increasing Plant Capacity through Aerobic Granular Sludge, Local Government Association of South Australia, 19/06/2025 - 31/05/2026

  • CWMS011 – Evaluation of fluorescence sensor to monitor wastewater, assess treatment performance and develop warning alarm using machine learning, Local Government Association of South Australia, 09/05/2025 - 09/05/2026

  • The health of tank-stored rainwater in South Australian houses, Royal Society of South Australia - Small Research Grant, 23/09/2024 - 23/09/2025

  • Ultrafiltration/Micro Validation, Water Research Australia, 15/04/2025 - 30/06/2025

Courses I teach

  • ENVT 2014 Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (2024)
  • ENVT 3030 Environmental and Geospatial Field Project (2024)

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2025 Principal Supervisor - Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Stephanie Faulks

Date Role Board name Institution name Country
2023 - ongoing Member Goyder Institute Management Board Member Goyder Institute for Water Research Australia

Date Role Committee Institution Country
2025 - ongoing Member WaterVal Protocol Development Group Water Research Australia Australia
2018 - ongoing Member National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Recreational Water Quality Advisory Group Committee member National Health and Medical Research Council Australia

Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
2024 - ongoing Associate Editor Water Conservation Science and Engineering journal Springer Nature (Netherlands) Netherlands

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