Project description
Removing perfluorinated compounds from drinking water and groundwater
Perfluorinated compounds are a group of toxic chemicals that persist in the environment for long periods. These man-made chemicals have been detected in drinking water and groundwater, raising serious concerns about human health. So far, advanced oxidation processes, including Fenton reagents, ozone oxidants, ultraviolet light or catalysts, have shown limited success in reducing and removing these chemicals. The EU-funded PFCsByPlasCat project will test an alternative treatment option known as non-thermal plasmas that produces several reactive species at a time. Various nanocatalysts will be tested, including boron-doped graphene oxide, to maximise the efficiency of the novel hybrid plasma–catalyst process. Real samples of contaminated groundwater will be tested to validate the process.
Objective
The extensive use of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in many industrial/commercial applications, as surfactants, emulsifiers, etc., and their high chemical stability are responsible for their ubiquitous presence in the environment. Specifically, the contamination of groundwater and drinking water supplies by perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) is raising great concern as more data on PFCs toxicity in humans and wildlife is becoming available. Thus, a parallel surge in monitoring campaigns and in the search for innovative water treatment technologies for PFCs is required. Since PFCs are highly resistant to degradation by standard chemical and biological processes, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are being considered and, including Fenton, ozone and UV irradiation with catalysts, applied so far with limited success. Among innovative AOPs, air non-thermal plasmas (NTP), which produce several reactive species at a time, have been recently tested for the treatment of PFOA/PFOS yielding promising results. The proposed research aims to advance the state of art by developing an innovative treatment process for PFCs in which NTP is applied in combination with novel boron-doped graphene oxide (B-GO) nano photocatalysts. The catalysts synthesized and characterized by the Researcher will be tested on prepared solutions of PFOA and PFOS using various NTP reactors which are available in the beneficiary laboratory. The best catalyst-reactor combination will thus be identified; conditions and parameters will be optimized to maximize the synergy between plasma and catalyst and the efficiency of the novel hybrid plas-cat process. Real samples of contaminated groundwater will be tested to verify the process applicability to complex matrices. For excellence of research, basic guidelines will be drawn and disseminated for implementing an efficient hybrid plas-cat process in view of auspicable scaling-up and technology transfer to stakeholders.
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.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering water treatment processes drinking water treatment processes
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis photocatalysis
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials two-dimensional nanostructures graphene
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry metalloids
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
35122 PADOVA
Italy
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.