Objective
The biogeochemical cycles of chalcogens play a major role in the environment, where the cycles of selenium (Se) and tellurium (Te) have been much less studied compared to those of the omnipresent elements oxygen and sulfur. Removal and recovery of Se/Te from wastes is desirable for ecosystem well-being and meeting future needs of these resources. To survive and grow, bacteria harvest energy by shuttling electrons to a variety of electron acceptors. Interestingly, a number of elements, including the Se/Te oxyanions are redox-active and can be used as electron acceptors by microbes. Thus, microbial metabolism alters solubility, thereby influencing transport, bioavailability and toxicity of the chalcogen oxyanions. In natural and engineered settings, biofilms are implicated in the transformation and immobilization of Se/Te. But, to develop industrial scale processes for removal and recovery, the rate must be accelerated. Identification of biofilm-components that mediate electron transfer to soluble Se/Te and solid-phase Se/Te might help to develop high-rate industrial scale processes. This IIF focuses on the identification of biofilm-components, exogenous electron shuttles that accelerate the reduction and recovery of Se/Te. A multi-disciplinary approach will be used for characterizing the reduction mechanisms, physiology and biofilm structure, thus the applicant acquires new skills available at the host institute. Experiments will be designed to find novel endogenous molecules, exogenous electron shuttles accelerating bacterial reduction of soluble Se/Te and solid-phase Se/Te. The fundamental insights obtained from the lab-scale studies will be translated to reactor-scale experiments for developing practical applications aiming at the removal and recovery as elemental Se/Te. The overall goal of this IIF is to train the applicant to develop more robust, economical and sustainable biotechnological processes for removal and recovery of Se/Te from industrial effluents.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
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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.
Topic(s)
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.
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.
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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IIF
See other projects for this call
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.
Coordinator
75007 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.