Project description
New solution for industrial wastewater treatment
Water scarcity affects many parts of Europe, and the prediction is that it will increase in the coming years. Water resource management decisions and tools are more important than ever. The application of membrane technologies is being explored for the production of clean water from industrial waste streams in the steel, textile, food and other industries. However, there are several challenges that need to be addressed before membrane distillation can be put on the market. The EIC-funded SuperClean project will find solutions by upscaling plasma-based membrane surface treatment techniques for creating superhydrophobic membranes. It will test membrane materials and implement them in full-scale membrane distillation modules. Various wastewater types will be used to evaluate the superhydrophobic membranes’ performance, longevity and anti-fouling properties.
Objective
Our world faces an urgent need for a greener industry with reduced water consumption and zero pollution, alleviating water scarcity problems. Membrane distillation (MD) is being explored for production of clean water from industrial waste streams in the steel, textile, food and other industries. Several challenges need to be overcome to achieve a full commercial market breakthrough for MD: Membrane wetting, scaling, and fouling. We plan to accept the challenges by using superhydrophobic membranes. Such membranes are also useful in oil-water separation, and a range of environmental applications. During the FET “HARMONIC” project, two RORs Max Planck-MPIP and NCSR-Demokritos developed complementary technologies for membrane superhydrophobicity, which impart extreme antiwetting, antiscaling and antifouling membranes. The technologies are based on plasma activation or plasma nanotexturing (NCSRD) followed by wet nanofilament growth (MPIP) or plasma deposition (NCSRD) for hydrophobization. Both institutions will advance their technology readiness level so the technology is validated - demonstrated in relevant environment (TRL 5-6), and will design, build, and test small scale pilot equipment for fabricating rolls of superhydrophobic membranes in a roll-to-roll format. For the upscaling of the technology NCSRD and MPIP, will cooperate with two industrial partners, namely Europlasma and SolSep respectively companies with large experience with roll-to-roll plasma or wet processes respectively. Moreover, they will team up with Aquastill, a manufacturer of commercial MD modules for industrial wastewater treatment. A market search and a business plan will be elaborated, for creating a spin-off company commercializing the superhydrophobic membranes, and processes. The range of applications will go well beyond MD.
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.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering water treatment processes wastewater treatment processes
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-processes
- natural sciences physical sciences plasma physics
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- engineering and technology chemical engineering separation technologies distillation
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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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.
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.
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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.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2022-TRANSITION-01
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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.
15 341 AGIA PARASKEVI
Greece
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.