Description du projet
Une technologie évolutive pour la destruction durable des PFAS
Les substances per- et polyfluoroalkylées (PFAS), souvent appelées «produits chimiques éternels», ont fait preuve d’une résistance exceptionnelle aux méthodes avancées de traitement de l’eau. Elles posent un risque important en raison de leur potentiel de bioaccumulation et de toxicité, plus de 9 000 substances de ce type ont été identifiées. Il existe par conséquent un besoin urgent de procédés ou de technologies capables de rompre les liaisons C-F qui constituent les PFAS sans générer de sous-produits toxiques. Le projet GRAPHEC, financé par le CER, entend relever ce défi. Le projet a déjà progressé en développant des anodes en éponge de graphène qui font appel à des processus électrochimiques pour décomposer les PFAS. Bien que cette solution soit encore au stade de la recherche et du développement, elle pourrait contribuer à la réalisation des objectifs du pacte vert pour l’Europe, notamment en ce qui concerne l’éradication durable des PFAS.
Objectif
Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been used since the 1940s and are known as “forever chemicals” due to their extreme persistency to advanced (waste)water treatment strategies. Due to the strength of the C-F bond, each released molecule of PFAS remains in the environment. Today there are more than 9,000 known PFAS, majority of them being extremely resistant to any kind of degradation, and with high bioaccumulation potentials and toxicities.
Electrochemical processes can address the challenge of PFAS presence in water, provided that the anode material is low cost and can break the C-F bond without forming toxic byproducts. Graphene sponge anode developed by our team is the first material to fulfill both requirements. In this project, we will aim at upscaling the electrochemical treatment based on graphene sponge electrodes and testing its long-term performance in degrading PFAS from complex residual streams. This will enable us to answer key scientific and technical questions required for further technology adoption by the water industry, many of them related to the fundamental mechanisms of electrochemical C-F bond breakage and features of anodically polarized graphene. Based on the results achieved to date at lab-scale, GRAPHEC technology has a strong potential to evolve into a sustainable, chemical-free destruction technology for PFAS-laden wastewaters and achieve their complete destruction at ambient temperature and pressure, in modular units, with low capital and operational cost.
Finally, this project also aims at keeping the existing intellectual property and engaging early technology adopters in Europe and beyond to form a mature network of future clients and reach a technology readiness level (TRL) 6 at the end of the project. The project will deliver a new platform technology for the removal of toxic and persistent chemicals from water and is likely to play a key role in the EU´s Green Deal Agenda for securing a toxic-free environment.
Champ scientifique
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régime de financement
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept GrantsInstitution d’accueil
17003 Girona
Espagne