Description du projet
Un outil de pointe pour surveiller la toxicité des eaux usées
L’urbanisation et le développement industriel et agricole engendrent une augmentation de la pollution des eaux usées dans le monde. Les eaux usées contiennent bon nombre de polluants chimiques et biologiques qui sont nocifs pour la santé publique; elles doivent donc être traitées en conséquence avant d’être rejetées dans l’environnement. Après traitement, l’eau affiche cependant une qualité variable, et les méthodes existantes sont basées sur un échantillonnage ponctuel, n’offrent pas d’informations sur la variabilité temporelle et ne permettent pas une surveillance fiable. Le projet ToxMate, financé par l’UE, est un instrument développé pour la surveillance automatisée en temps réel, en ligne et sur site de la toxicité des eaux usées. Il repose sur l’analyse et l’enregistrement simultanés de l’activité locomotrice de plusieurs espèces différentes d’invertébrés aquatiques, en utilisant la lumière infrarouge et des caméras de précision. La méthode est rapide, ce qui permet d’intervenir en temps utile pour optimiser la purification de l’eau.
Objectif
Urban centres, industries and agriculture produce large volumes of wastewater; in addition, the current population growth, accelerated urbanization and economic development are increasing the quantity and pollution of wastewater globally. Being a by-product of human activities, wastewater contains chemical, biological and physical pollutants, so it must be treated to remove all contaminants before it is released in the environment. Releasing untreated or inadequately treated wastewater is dangerous and has harmful effects on human health, the environment, and economic activities.
Water quality after wastewater purification varies over time, even and especially during one single day, but managers do not have the necessary tools to monitor these variations. Currently available methods based on bioassays or physical and chemical parameters require sampling, conservation and transport, and are based on spot-sampling (1-2 times/year). These methods are not able to provide information on temporal variability and have low efficiency, durability, and specificity; they are also slow in providing results (at least 72 hours) and can’t allow real time monitoring. To overcome these limitations, ViewPoint has developed ToxMate: a tool for the automated real-time, on-site and on-line monitoring of wastewater toxicity. It is based on the simultaneous analysis of the locomotor behaviour of 3 different species of aquatic invertebrates and it uses infrared light and powerful and precise cameras to record continuously the activity of the animals. The system is composed of 3 panels, each containing 16 animals, so 48 animals can be analysed at the same time and for up to 30 days. ToxMate is fast: it can provide a result on water toxicity in just one hour, so it allows public authorities and water managers to measure the variation in wastewater and identify abnormal episodes, thus allowing quick interventions to optimize water purification and control treatment plants more efficiently.
Champ scientifique
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processeswastewater treatment processes
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensorsoptical sensors
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrology
- engineering and technologychemical engineeringseparation technologiesdesalinationreverse osmosis
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyinvertebrate zoology
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Programme(s)
Régime de financement
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinateur
01390 Civrieux
France
L’entreprise s’est définie comme une PME (petite et moyenne entreprise) au moment de la signature de la convention de subvention.