Objective
Hospital wastewater effluents have been identified as the primary sources of DNA-damaging compounds, and are considered as the major source of antibiotic resistance in the environment. They exhibit significantly higher pollution, up to 3,500 mg/L of chemical oxygen demand, compared to municipal sewage (i.e. 100-500 mg/L).
There is no established technology for the treatment of hospital wastewater. Biological treatment is incapable of degrading more persistent contaminants, e.g. organohalogens, cytostatics, and antibacterial agents. Reverse osmosis membranes are very energy intensive, and generate large amounts of retentate that requires further treatment. The major constraint of chemical oxidation processes is the requirement for high chemical dosages for heavily polluted hospital wastewater.
This project proposes a next-generation technology for the treatment of contaminated hospital wastewater, based on the electrochemical generation of sulfate and hydroxyl radicals. Highly oxidizing sulfate and hydroxyl radicals are formed by applying current to an anode at atmospheric temperature and pressure. Excellent preliminary results achieved show an outstanding capacity of the electrochemically generated sulfate radicals in removing persistent organic contaminants at up to 80 times higher rates than with hydroxyl radicals alone. Sulfate radicals react mainly through electron transfer and hence are less subject to scavenging by the background matrix, which allows their accumulation in the solution and drastically enhances the oxidation efficiency.
The process offers several important advantages over existing oxidation technologies as it does not generate secondary pollution, has no pH limitations and does not require any external activators (e.g. iron). The project will develop a novel, clean platform technology for hospital wastewater remediation, yet applicable to the treatment of other types of contaminated waste streams, e.g. industrial wastewater.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering water treatment processes wastewater treatment processes
- natural sciences chemical sciences electrochemistry electrolysis
- engineering and technology chemical engineering separation technologies desalination reverse osmosis
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance antibiotic resistance
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry organohalogen compounds
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
17003 Girona
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.