The biggest threat for European waters, and beyond, is the increased presence of micropollutants. These dissolved molecules, some of which are toxic at extremely low level, include pesticides and excess nutrients from agriculture, but also cosmetic and pharmaceutical compounds, as well as industrial chemicals. Traditional wastewater treatment technologies are inefficient at removing these molecules, and as a result, they tend to accumulate in our surface waters. Most problematic, some of them are now encountered in ground water, and potable water. Currently, only Switzerland has deployed technology for micropollution treatment in their water treatment plants, but their high energy use has caused a 30% increase in energy costs. For realistic action on micropollution, a smaller, more economical and more environmentally friendly system is needed.
MAPIC tackles pharmaceutical micropollutant capture (antibiotics, endocrine disruptors,…) from wastewater by developing a small, energy-efficient, high capture efficiency device that couples microfluidic technology with β-Cyclodextrin polymer (β-CDP). β-CDP was recently shown to outperform all other adsorbants in water depollution test. Yet, like all adsorption methods, β-CDP efficiency is dependent on required elapsed time for interaction events to occur in between flowing pollutant and the adsorbant surface. This can be greatly improved by using microfluidics systems which reduce drastically both the diffusion distance and the related time while significantly minimizing the overall footprint. MAPIC highly integrated microfluidic architectures can treat up to 50 m3/day, and unlike conventional methods uses minimal energy (<200Pa). The modular assembly can also offer multiplexed capture approaches through serial configuration.
This project paves the way for sustainable advanced water treatment. Its technology can also be declined to other applications: biosensing, solvent recovery, and others fluid system remediation (Air, Gas, oils, etc,…). During the project, a remediation demonstrator is prepared for domestic and industrial perspectives, with respectively targeted sizes of a Soda-Can and a suitcase. This innovative solution to remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater can help in tackling some of our greatest challenges: water scarcity, energy saving, and antibiotic resistance.
