Project description
Cavitation technology to eliminate ‘forever chemicals’
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called ‘forever chemicals’, build up in the environment and in living beings, creating serious health risks. Current treatment options, including adsorption, incineration, and electrochemical methods, are expensive and generate additional waste. In this context, the ERC-funded CAVICLEAN project is developing a novel solution using catalytic cavitation membrane agents (CCMAs). This process creates and stabilises cavitation bubbles, concentrating energy and radicals to completely break down PFAS into harmless byproducts. Unlike traditional methods that only capture or partially degrade PFAS, this method guarantees complete mineralisation without generating secondary pollution. CAVICLEAN seeks to provide wastewater plants a scalable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient method to remove PFAS contamination.
Objective
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose a significant environmental and health risk due to their extreme persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. Existing treatment methods, such as adsorption, incineration, and electrochemical degradation, suffer from high operational costs, secondary waste generation, and limited scalability. CAVICLEAN introduces an innovative catalytic cavitation-based approach, based on ERC funded project ConCASM, that leverages engineered catalytic cavitation membrane agents (CCMAs) to nucleate and stabilize cavitation bubbles, enhancing localized energy concentration and radical generation for efficient PFAS mineralization. The core innovation of CAVICLEAN lies in the development of specialized CCMAs that act as both cavitation nuclei, catalysts and membrane filters, promoting intensified acoustic cavitation while minimizing energy consumption. This process ensures complete mineralization of PFAS into harmless byproducts, addressing a critical gap in existing treatment technologies. Unlike traditional approaches that either capture or partially degrade PFAS, CAVICLEAN achieves direct molecular breakdown without secondary waste formation. The plug-and-play reactor design enables seamless integration into existing wastewater treatment infrastructure, offering a scalable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient solution.
The project follows a structured methodology, beginning with fundamental investigations of cavitation dynamics and CCMA material properties, followed by laboratory-scale validation of PFAS degradation kinetics. A pilot-scale continuous-flow reactor will then be deployed in real wastewater treatment plants to assess long-term stability, energy efficiency, and regulatory compliance. Additionally, life cycle assessments (LCA) and techno-economic analyses will establish the environmental and economic viability of the technology.
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.
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.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering water treatment processes wastewater treatment processes
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
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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.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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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) ERC-2025-POC
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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.
75794 PARIS
France
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.