Porous sensors for real-time monitoring of water quality risks

Description du projet

Combattre les menaces tapies dans l’eau

La contamination microbienne des rivières, des réservoirs et des exploitations piscicoles constitue une menace pour la santé publique et la sécurité alimentaire. Les cyanobactéries nuisibles coûtent chaque année plus de 150 millions EUR aux fournisseurs d’eau européens, sans compter les pertes de plusieurs milliards d’euros causées par les épidémies bactériennes en aquaculture. Les systèmes de surveillance actuels ne parviennent pas à détecter les problèmes suffisamment tôt. Le projet PROTEGE, financé par le CER, développe un capteur capable de détecter en temps réel les micro-organismes nuisibles. Ce dispositif, conçu à partir de mousses conductrices poreuses ultra-sensibles, exploite l’électrophysiologie avancée pour détecter instantanément toute contamination. Avec le soutien de partenaires industriels et d’un laboratoire d’État, PROTEGE entend apporter un prototype fonctionnel aux fournisseurs d’eau et aux producteurs aquacoles, qui constituera un pas vers une eau plus propre, plus sûre et plus durable.

Objectif

The unpredictable contamination of microbial communities in aquatic environments is a global concern for drinking water suppliers and aquaculture producers. Drinking water treatment expenditures, mainly caused by excessive proliferation of harmful cyanobacteria can cost over €150 million/year in European countries. The scenario aggravates when considering the debilitating attacks from pathogenic bacteria in aquaculture cages, generating global economic losses of over $25 billion. In both industrial sectors, the mitigation costs scales with microbial detection delay.

Existent monitoring solutions for water quality mostly rely on time-consuming and operator-dependent measurements of nitrogen and phosphorus fractions, temperature and dissolved oxygen or in using chlorophyll a as a proxy. Yet, these approaches fail to deliver effective and real-time detection of microbial contamination.

Within the ERC-funded GREEN project we have identified a promising commercial application which by means of ultrasensitive electrophysiology allows unprecedent real-time detection of harmful microorganisms in aquatic environments. An international patent has been filed and two research articles published. In addition, two distinct industrial partners and a state laboratory are committed to support and actively participate in PROTEGE.

The breakthrough has been realised by the development of ultra-sensitive porous conducting polyurethane foams which exploits the large electrode area, maximizing the double-layer capacitance and concomitant microbial detection sensitivity. The main aim of PROTEGE is to demonstrate a working prototype in the industrial partners facilities, capable of real-time detection of cyanobacteria in water-supply reservoirs and pathogenic bacteria in aquaculture cages, and to develop a business and exploitation plan for technology commercialization of a market-oriented prototype with real-time telemetry data.