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Content archived on 2024-06-18

Optimal Design and Operation of Microbial Ecosystems for Bioenergy Production and Waste Treatment

Objective

Many microbial ecosystems, as part of their normal activity, have the potential to provide services to society and improve environmental quality. Some can degrade contaminants that pollute water, air or soil. Others can transform waste materials into valuable renewable resources, including bioenergy, biomaterials and high-value products. This generic capability opens the possibility for combining several microbial ecosystems in integrated bioprocesses or biorefineries, where various types of bioenergy or biomaterials are produced and multiple sources of pollution are treated, all at the same time.

The focus in the DOP-ECOS project is on bioprocesses that couple a photobioreactor, where microalgae capture sunlight to produce new biomass and lipids, and an anaerobic digester, where bacteria convert biomass into biogas and recover nutrients. The general objective is twofold: (i) optimize the design, operation and control of integrated microalgal/bacterial processes; and (ii) develop the supporting methods and tools for their reliable analysis and optimization.

While experimental research and demonstration programs are carried out worldwide to identify suitable algae strains and expand algal biofuel production from a craft to a major industrial process, the DOP-ECOS project is the first of its kind to apply a systematic, model-based methodology in order to determine optimal design and operation strategies. The need to account for operational issues at an early design stage is particularly pressing for integrated microalgal/bacterial systems, where the operation is expected to have a profound influence on the process design, due to the intricacy of the biological and physical processes involved. Because of the large uncertainty and variability inherent to microbial ecosystems, optimization under uncertainty provides a systematic framework to design and operation these processes.

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.

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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.

Call for proposal

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

FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG
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.

MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)

Coordinator

IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
EU contribution
€ 100 000,00
Address
SOUTH KENSINGTON CAMPUS EXHIBITION ROAD
SW7 2AZ London
United Kingdom

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Region
London Inner London — West Westminster
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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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.

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