Descripción del proyecto
Vigilancia y control en línea de los contaminantes del agua
Los microcontaminantes suponen un nuevo reto para los recursos hídricos, especialmente el agua potable, en Europa y el resto del mundo. Aunque están presentes en concentraciones extremadamente bajas y no muestran una toxicidad aguda para los organismos vivos o el medio ambiente, sus efectos a largo plazo son inciertos. Las plantas de tratamiento de agua y de aguas residuales no eliminan totalmente los microcontaminantes, que se acumulan en los recursos hídricos en concentraciones más elevadas, lo que aumenta los riesgos para la salud y el medio ambiente. Se espera que las revisiones de las directivas de la Unión Europea sobre el agua potable y las aguas residuales exijan la vigilancia y el control de estas sustancias, lo que supone un reto para las empresas europeas de suministro de agua. En el proyecto ECO-SOS, financiado con fondos europeos, se desarrollarán sistemas de vigilancia y control en tiempo real, así como un sistema de vigilancia novedoso, rentable y fácil de usar para optimizar la eliminación de contaminantes del agua emergentes.
Objetivo
The water resources and especially the drinking water in Europe and globally face new challenges with the emerging micropollutants, originating from pharmaceuticals, personal care products, plastics, flame retardants, etc. Even though they present in extremely low concentrations and do not exhibit acute toxicity to living organisms or environment, the long-term effects are uncertain. The water and wastewater treatment plants do not fully remove or eliminate them; thus, they accumulate in the water resources leading to higher concentrations increasing the health and environmental risks. Hence, the revisions of the EU drinking and wastewater directives are anticipated to require monitoring and control of these substances.
However, that poses a challenge to the water utilities in Europe; The current analytical and monitoring systems of detection of these compounds at low concentration are expensive, time-consuming and usually complicated. Current studies have only reported the fate of these substances during various treatment processes but not on how to optimise them to maximise removal. To solve this problem, we would like to combine the expertise of the host research group and fellow applicant—the group of prof. Ratnaweera has experience in the development of real-time control and monitoring systems, while the fellow applicant is specialised in the analysis and removal of emerging contaminants during treatment processes. Thus, the global objective is to develop novel, cost-effective and simple to use surveillance system that would also enable the optimising of the removal of emerging contaminants in water. The concept will be developed and verified in collaboration with Norwegian and European water utilities addressing their needs and concerns.
Ámbito científico
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processesdrinking water treatment processes
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processeswastewater treatment processes
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugs
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrology
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinador
1433 As
Noruega