A next generation nanomedia that can be tailored to capture and recycle specific micropollutants in contaminated industrial waste discharge

Project Information

CGM

Grant agreement ID: 775571

DOI

10.3030/775571

Project closed

EC signature date 30 May 2017

Start date 1 June 2017

End date 30 September 2017

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies – Nanotechnologies

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

PURAFFINITY LTD
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CGM (A next generation nanomedia that can be tailored to capture and recycle specific micropollutants in contaminated industrial waste discharge)

Reporting period: 2017-06-01 to 2017-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Our freshwater reserves are increasingly polluted due to the accumulation of certain hazardous chemicals that remain in wastewater after current treatment methods. This leads to increasing water stress, which will affect 47% of the world’s population by 2030. We aim to address this issue with a low-cost, low-energy solution using biological materials. CustoMem has developed a granular media (CGM) to specifically bind the target hazardous micropollutants in water such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals and high-performance chemicals. The key objectives of the project are to optimist the production process and application of CGM and validate its suitability for key target markets.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the feasibility assessment, CustoMem completed a full analysis of the technical and business potential of their CGM platform. CustoMem expanded their knowledge on CGM’s capability, the water treatment market and different customer segments and established a sound business model and commercialization strategy for the anticipated market launch. CustoMem also secured key partners and outlined the scope of the trials to be conducted, based on the expected scale requirements by customers. In addition to the planning of technical activities, CustoMem analyzed in detail the market and customer segments as well as the most suitable go-to-market strategy.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

CustoMem is superior to other solutions (such as advanced oxidation processes, adosrption resins, UV treatment, carbon nanotubes) in a number of key parameters. CGM can rapidly capture micropollutants (>90% in ~10 seconds) reducing concentrations to parts per trillion (ppt) levels. It operates like an industrial-scale Brita-type water filter, as drop-in to existing steel tank infrastructure and requiring a smaller footprint than Granular Activated Carbon infrastructure. CGM production and treatment operation are low energy (<0.5 kWh/kg media and < 0.01 kWh/M3 of treated water). CGM tackles the problem of unsustainable water supply through targeted capture of micropollutants from industrial wastewater that are challenging and energy intensive to remove with available technologies. Improving the sustainability of water supply will have a significant societal impact and also presents a large economic opportunity for CustoMem.

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