Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NIAGARA (Understanding, monitoring, and remediating the spread of chemical, microbiological and plastic pollution in drinking water treatment plants)
Reporting period: 2023-11-01 to 2025-04-30
The NIAGARA project addresses the urgent need for safe drinking water under climate change and new pollutants. It advances knowledge and technologies to ensure cleaner water, lower health risks, and stronger community resilience. By promoting cost-effective solutions, it strengthens Europe’s water sector, supports effective policies, and contributes to the Green Deal and UN goals. In essence, NIAGARA safeguards people’s health and the environment through more resilient water systems.
The development and the implementation planning of the NIAGARA concept have been based on the following set of Specific Objectives (S.O.)
S.O.1 – To develop a cost-effective manufacture scheme for multi-analyte biosensors for water pollutants (BWP) for its rutinary use in DWTPs, with limits of quantification reaching the relevant values for human health. And validate it at lab-scale through the manufacture of a demonstrator for 4 highly relevant and concerning water pollutants: BPA, H. pylori, imazalil and ibuprofen/paracetamol.
S.O.2 – To design and develop a manufacture scheme of an immobilized enzymatic degradation system (IEDS) to remove chemical pollutants and pathogens from drinking water in DWTPs. And to validate it at lab-scale for the removal of BPA, H. pylori, imazalil, and ibuprofen / paracetamol.
S.O.3 – To develop and validate at lab-scale an IEDS to remove nano-/micro- plastics (N/MPs) from drinking water in DWTP
S.O.4 – To validate (lab scale) an efficient and safe disinfection method based on UV/TiO2 photocatalysis for its later pilot scaling, with comprehensive consideration of DBPs associated to our 4-analytes panel.
S.O.5 – To demonstrate our solutions at pilot level (TRL5), and their combined use in an innovative IEDS-UV/TiO2 tandem, for ensuring their safety towards human health, and their sustainability from early stages, establishing Safety and Sustainability -by-design criteria for all of them.
S.O.6 – To develop a highly-accurate, cost-effective, fast, hydraulic model based on Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) using the quantifications from our BWP (S.O.1) to predict the spread of pollutants and (UR)DBPs in real time in a pilot demonstrator (TRL5) of the drinking water distribution network (DWDN) in the city of Valencia (Spain),
incorporating a multiagent model to elucidate human exposure data for risk management.
S.O.7 – To optimize dissemination, communication, exploitation and training
The development and the implementation planning of the NIAGARA concept have been based on the following set of Specific Objectives (S.O.)
S.O.1 – To develop a cost-effective manufacture scheme for multi-analyte biosensors for water pollutants (BWP) for its rutinary use in DWTPs, with limits of quantification reaching the relevant values for human health. And validate it at lab-scale through the manufacture of a demonstrator for 4 highly relevant and concerning water pollutants: BPA, H. pylori, imazalil and ibuprofen/paracetamol.
S.O.2 – To design and develop a manufacture scheme of an immobilized enzymatic degradation system (IEDS) to remove chemical pollutants and pathogens from drinking water in DWTPs. And to validate it at lab-scale for the removal of BPA, H. pylori, imazalil, and ibuprofen / paracetamol.
S.O.3 – To develop and validate at lab-scale an IEDS to remove nano-/micro- plastics (N/MPs) from drinking water in DWTP
S.O.4 – To validate (lab scale) an efficient and safe disinfection method based on UV/TiO2 photocatalysis for its later pilot scaling, with comprehensive consideration of DBPs associated to our 4-analytes panel.
S.O.5 – To demonstrate our solutions at pilot level (TRL5), and their combined use in an innovative IEDS-UV/TiO2 tandem, for ensuring their safety towards human health, and their sustainability from early stages, establishing Safety and Sustainability -by-design criteria for all of them.
S.O.6 – To develop a highly-accurate, cost-effective, fast, hydraulic model based on Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) using the quantifications from our BWP (S.O.1) to predict the spread of pollutants and (UR)DBPs in real time in a pilot demonstrator (TRL5) of the drinking water distribution network (DWDN) in the city of Valencia (Spain),
incorporating a multiagent model to elucidate human exposure data for risk management.
S.O.7 – To optimize dissemination, communication, exploitation and training
Following description provides information regardind NIAGARA technical updates at M18 related with each of their objectives,
SO1 To develop a cost-effective manufacture scheme for multi-analyte biosensors for water pollutants (BWP) for its rutinary use in DWTPs, with limits of quantification reaching the relevant values for human health. And validate it at lab-scale through the manufacture of a demonstrator for 4 highly relevant and concerning water pollutants: BPA, H. pylori, imazalil and ibuprofen/paracetamol.
In Progress: Photonic interdigitated circuits have been developed and characterized successfully. Bioassays development and optimization for reaching the LOD defined for each of the pollutant, as well as their validation at lab scale is still in progress.
SO2 To design and develop a manufacture scheme of an immobilized enzymatic degradation system (IEDS) to remove chemical pollutants and pathogens from drinking water in DWTPs. And to validate it at lab-scale for the removal of BPA, H. pylori, imazalil, and ibuprofen / paracetamol.
In Progress: Enzymatic methodologies for pollutant degradation have been screened, developed, and optimized. Immobilization of these enzymes in solid phase, optimisation, and validation with real samples to assess their disinfection capability is still in progress
SO3 To develop and validate at lab-scale an IEDS to remove nano-/micro- plastics (N/MPs) from drinking water in DWTP
In Progress: Different enzymatic strategies had been considered for NMP degradation, and now they are under study for preliminary results regarding degradation assessment. Tandem disinfection approach is on-going.
SO4 To validate (lab scale) an efficient and safe disinfection method based on UV/TiO2 photocatalysis for its later pilot scaling, with comprehensive consideration of DBPs associated to our 4-analytes panel.
Scheduled for next period: Validation step has not started in this reporting period. This objective will be a priority in the upcoming reporting period.
SO5 To demonstrate our solutions at pilot level (TRL5), and their combined use in an innovative IEDS-UV/TiO2 tandem, for ensuring their safety towards human health, and their sustainability from early stages, establishing Safety and Sustainability -by-design criteria for all of them.
Scheduled for next period: Demonstration of solutinos at pilot level step has not started in this reporting period. This objective will be a priority in the further reporting periods
SO6 To develop a highly-accurate, cost-effective, fast, hydraulic model based on Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) using the quantifications from our BWP (S.O.1) to predict the spread of pollutants and (UR)DBPs in real time in a pilot demonstrator (TRL5) of the drinking water distribution network (DWDN) in the city of Valencia (Spain), incorporating a multiagent model to elucidate human exposure data for risk management.
In Progress: First approach for develop a model to estimate the different fluxes for the project pollutants (Bisphenol A, imazalil, H. pylori, paracetamol and ibuprofen), based in, two different box models have been developed. Further steps regarding model validation and implementation are on-going.
SO1 To develop a cost-effective manufacture scheme for multi-analyte biosensors for water pollutants (BWP) for its rutinary use in DWTPs, with limits of quantification reaching the relevant values for human health. And validate it at lab-scale through the manufacture of a demonstrator for 4 highly relevant and concerning water pollutants: BPA, H. pylori, imazalil and ibuprofen/paracetamol.
In Progress: Photonic interdigitated circuits have been developed and characterized successfully. Bioassays development and optimization for reaching the LOD defined for each of the pollutant, as well as their validation at lab scale is still in progress.
SO2 To design and develop a manufacture scheme of an immobilized enzymatic degradation system (IEDS) to remove chemical pollutants and pathogens from drinking water in DWTPs. And to validate it at lab-scale for the removal of BPA, H. pylori, imazalil, and ibuprofen / paracetamol.
In Progress: Enzymatic methodologies for pollutant degradation have been screened, developed, and optimized. Immobilization of these enzymes in solid phase, optimisation, and validation with real samples to assess their disinfection capability is still in progress
SO3 To develop and validate at lab-scale an IEDS to remove nano-/micro- plastics (N/MPs) from drinking water in DWTP
In Progress: Different enzymatic strategies had been considered for NMP degradation, and now they are under study for preliminary results regarding degradation assessment. Tandem disinfection approach is on-going.
SO4 To validate (lab scale) an efficient and safe disinfection method based on UV/TiO2 photocatalysis for its later pilot scaling, with comprehensive consideration of DBPs associated to our 4-analytes panel.
Scheduled for next period: Validation step has not started in this reporting period. This objective will be a priority in the upcoming reporting period.
SO5 To demonstrate our solutions at pilot level (TRL5), and their combined use in an innovative IEDS-UV/TiO2 tandem, for ensuring their safety towards human health, and their sustainability from early stages, establishing Safety and Sustainability -by-design criteria for all of them.
Scheduled for next period: Demonstration of solutinos at pilot level step has not started in this reporting period. This objective will be a priority in the further reporting periods
SO6 To develop a highly-accurate, cost-effective, fast, hydraulic model based on Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) using the quantifications from our BWP (S.O.1) to predict the spread of pollutants and (UR)DBPs in real time in a pilot demonstrator (TRL5) of the drinking water distribution network (DWDN) in the city of Valencia (Spain), incorporating a multiagent model to elucidate human exposure data for risk management.
In Progress: First approach for develop a model to estimate the different fluxes for the project pollutants (Bisphenol A, imazalil, H. pylori, paracetamol and ibuprofen), based in, two different box models have been developed. Further steps regarding model validation and implementation are on-going.
No results beyond the state of the art have been achieved until M18