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Active microcleaners for water remediation

Objective

We have witnessed a massive growth in industrial and agricultural activities, and a huge increment in the release of pollutants to our aqueous ecosystems. Centralized water suppliers look for systems energetically more viable than current ones and for onsite water purification systems which can be faster, more affordable and less aggressive.
Here, we present a novel active self-mixing and multifunctional system (microcleaners) capable of cleaning chemical and biological pollutants. Using a combination of cutting-edge technologies, microcleaners will be applied in several aqueous environments such as industrial wastewaters or polluted aquatic ecosystems. The system will consist of an active part (for self-power), and a chemically reactive part (for cleaning pollutants). The small microcleaners can be recovered using magnetic fields and guided to defined locations using “tactic behaviours” imposed by gradients (temperature, chemical, or pH, for example). This property, will contribute to the re-usability of the microcleaners, which will significantly reduce the cost of the water treatment. A pilot microfluidic device will be fabricated where multiple fluidic parameters can be precisely controlled and model pollutants can be tested. Thereafter, the developed technology will be carefully evaluated and tested in up-scaled systems containing real samples of contaminated water.
Overall, this project will enable to treat water in an unprecedented revolutionary, energy efficient and target-specific manner. We aim at engineering microcleaners such that small –but functionally significant- modifications will allow us to target organic pollutants and capture heavy metals. The expected outcome of the project is to test the benefits of our microcleaners technology to a new generation of water treatment methods and make this technology available to the market.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Programme(s)

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.

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.

ERC-POC - Proof of Concept Grant

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2015-PoC

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Host institution

FUNDACIO INSTITUT DE BIOENGINYERIA DE CATALUNYA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 150 000,00
Address
CARRER BALDIRI REIXAC PLANTA 2A 10-12
08028 Barcelona
Spain

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Region
Este Cataluña Barcelona
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost

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.

€ 150 000,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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