Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SED (Porous carbon materials for Solar photoElectrolytic Disinfection)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2019-09-01 al 2021-08-31
Water is one crucial natural resource since life on our planet depends on it. Safe drinking water is vital for human existence and good quality of life. The transmission of serious diseases through pathogenic microorganisms in water is extremely common in the developing world and the antimicrobial resistance has increased globally. The understanding of new processes that guarantee effectively the elimination of resistant microorganisms and access to safe drinking water, is therefore of utmost importance, thus a priority in H2020 programme.
Sanitation and fetching water are one of the major challenges faced in overcoming gender inequalities. In Africa, women do 90% of the work of gathering water. Providing access to clean water close to home can reduce women’s workloads, and free up time for other activities. In 12% of households children carry the main responsibility for collecting water, with girls less than 15 years of age being twice as likely to carry this responsibility as boys.
The scientific aim of Porous carbon materials for Solar photoElectrolytic Disinfection (SED) project is the development of a new sustainable methodology for water treatment. It will be the first time that Ordered Mesoporous Carbons and carbon foam are used in a solar photoelectrolytic disinfection system. The societal aims are to contribute to the reduction of the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. SED project proposes an advanced oxidation process combined with specific carbon materials, which can operate under ambient temperature and pressure. Oxygen and water will be used as oxidant without the addition of consumable chemicals and without generation of potential mutagenic disinfection byproducts (as from chlorination or ozonation). If one uses solar energy to drive the photoelectrolytic process then it becomes a truly clean technology.
The multidisciplinary perspective adopted, combining biological sciences, advanced materials synthesis, chemistry processes and engineering, allows useful and scientifically cooperative interactions to achieve the best results. The aims of SED project are included into both principles of H2020, contributing to the development of advanced material architectures for the use of solar energy for safe water disinfection, within the sustainable limits of the planet's natural resources and eco-systems.
Sanitation and fetching water are one of the major challenges faced in overcoming gender inequalities. In Africa, women do 90% of the work of gathering water. Providing access to clean water close to home can reduce women’s workloads, and free up time for other activities. In 12% of households children carry the main responsibility for collecting water, with girls less than 15 years of age being twice as likely to carry this responsibility as boys.
The scientific aim of Porous carbon materials for Solar photoElectrolytic Disinfection (SED) project is the development of a new sustainable methodology for water treatment. It will be the first time that Ordered Mesoporous Carbons and carbon foam are used in a solar photoelectrolytic disinfection system. The societal aims are to contribute to the reduction of the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. SED project proposes an advanced oxidation process combined with specific carbon materials, which can operate under ambient temperature and pressure. Oxygen and water will be used as oxidant without the addition of consumable chemicals and without generation of potential mutagenic disinfection byproducts (as from chlorination or ozonation). If one uses solar energy to drive the photoelectrolytic process then it becomes a truly clean technology.
The multidisciplinary perspective adopted, combining biological sciences, advanced materials synthesis, chemistry processes and engineering, allows useful and scientifically cooperative interactions to achieve the best results. The aims of SED project are included into both principles of H2020, contributing to the development of advanced material architectures for the use of solar energy for safe water disinfection, within the sustainable limits of the planet's natural resources and eco-systems.
Mesoporous carbon materials offer many advantages as part of the electrodes of the system: high surface area, high conductivity and improved diffusion of molecules between their pores. The material that are being researching in the SED Project is melamine carbon foam-based materials. They show an interesting photocatalytic behaviour under LED UV-B radiation. On the other hand, carbon-nitride foams are synthetized using different method with the stirrer overhead 60 NCM OHS. This new proposal will enable to prepare novel carbon foam materials with any doping agent. Their photocatalytic behaviour is ongoing now.
The action involving the company who elaborate the pristine sponge of melamine open the possibility of new collaboration project between the LCM team and the company. If the melamine carbon foam obtained by Dr Velo turn out to be the most suitable materials for the water treatment system, there will be the possibility of requesting a new joint project. This is a fundamental way to transfer knowledge of research results to the business world.