Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EiCLaR (Enhanced In Situ Bioremediation for Contaminated Land Remediation)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-07-01 al 2023-12-31
Environmental pollution is a major global issue affecting natural resources and the environment in generic terms and creating important concerns for human health in particular. Standard remediation strategies have different levels of efficiency. Advanced bioremediation approaches, which use naturally occurring microorganism, foresee more sustainable and gentle alternatives to physicochemical conditions. A number of challenges remain. These include for instance, their effectiveness to treat compounds that are not biodegradable, time efficiency, the combined biological activity of the microbial community over time and space and the consumption of energy.
Our broad aim is to lift biotechnologies to new performance levels through the fusion of these ISBRs with non-biological processes. Targeting difficult and/or complex contaminant mixtures and sites, we will develop and market innovative integrated biotechnologies for contaminant destruction. We will produce cutting-edge, effective, and sustainable remediation alternatives to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6, capable of practical and commercial deployment within three years after EiCLaR is completed. We will support this goal by including cross-cutting comprehensive decision support that links to demonstrable risk management and sustainability performance, rigorous road maps to TRL9 supported by realistic market entry assessment for each technology, and in-depth engagement with remediation practitioners and markets in the EU and China. We will deliver a project that is relevant to Society, economic activity and environmental protection, by ensuring our work meets the needs of sustainable and risk based land management (SRBLM) demanded by key international regulatory / industry networks and initiatives across the world, and the recent standard ISO 18504:2017 on “sustainable remediation”.
The Enhanced Innovative In situ Biotechnologies for Contaminated Land Remediation (EiCLaR)” project integrates biological and non-biological processes to extend the sustainability and cost effectiveness benefits of in situ bioremediation (ISBR) to a far wider range of land contamination problems. The broad hypothesis underlying our research is that integration with specific physical, electrical and chemical processes will provide a clear value-added component to modern environmental biotechnologies. These enhanced and innovative biological remediation systems will achieve a step change in performance over existing in situ bioremediation solutions and increase the range of biologically treatable problems in terms of contamination types, concentrations (e.g. source treatment), and complexity (e.g. mixtures). The broad aim of EiCLaR to enhance the performance of bioremediation by integrating it with physical, chemical techniques is centered on four specific combinations.
These integrated “EiCLaR technologies” will extend the range of bio-treatable solutions, improve performance relative to other biotechnologies, improve sustainability and/or increase flexibility and resilience through clear explicit advantages.
Our broad aim is to lift biotechnologies to new performance levels through the fusion of these ISBRs with non-biological processes. Targeting difficult and/or complex contaminant mixtures and sites, we will develop and market innovative integrated biotechnologies for contaminant destruction. We will produce cutting-edge, effective, and sustainable remediation alternatives to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6, capable of practical and commercial deployment within three years after EiCLaR is completed. We will support this goal by including cross-cutting comprehensive decision support that links to demonstrable risk management and sustainability performance, rigorous road maps to TRL9 supported by realistic market entry assessment for each technology, and in-depth engagement with remediation practitioners and markets in the EU and China. We will deliver a project that is relevant to Society, economic activity and environmental protection, by ensuring our work meets the needs of sustainable and risk based land management (SRBLM) demanded by key international regulatory / industry networks and initiatives across the world, and the recent standard ISO 18504:2017 on “sustainable remediation”.
The Enhanced Innovative In situ Biotechnologies for Contaminated Land Remediation (EiCLaR)” project integrates biological and non-biological processes to extend the sustainability and cost effectiveness benefits of in situ bioremediation (ISBR) to a far wider range of land contamination problems. The broad hypothesis underlying our research is that integration with specific physical, electrical and chemical processes will provide a clear value-added component to modern environmental biotechnologies. These enhanced and innovative biological remediation systems will achieve a step change in performance over existing in situ bioremediation solutions and increase the range of biologically treatable problems in terms of contamination types, concentrations (e.g. source treatment), and complexity (e.g. mixtures). The broad aim of EiCLaR to enhance the performance of bioremediation by integrating it with physical, chemical techniques is centered on four specific combinations.
These integrated “EiCLaR technologies” will extend the range of bio-treatable solutions, improve performance relative to other biotechnologies, improve sustainability and/or increase flexibility and resilience through clear explicit advantages.
During this second reporting period, the four technologies developed in the EiCLaR project were tested in labs, in scale-up tests and in field site demonstrations in the European Union and in China. The preparation for the commercialization of the four technologies started with the preparation of different documents (case studies, white papers) and the development of a decision support tool.
We also enhanced our communication on the project and gained visibility with more communication and dissemination activities, like publications about our work progress and participation to events.
We also enhanced our communication on the project and gained visibility with more communication and dissemination activities, like publications about our work progress and participation to events.
1. We have discovered and defined possible novel configurations, materials and operational parameters and target contaminants that optimize our technologies for the established proof-of-concept level research for their specific applications.
2. We are moving our innovative bioremediation technologies from their current proof-of-concept level to their industrially- and environmentally-relevant demonstration.
These technologies enhance intensive and low input in situ biological approaches by integration with abiotic interventions including electro-chemical remediation, and nano remediation techniques, either in parallel or sequentially
3. We will drive our advances in innovative bioremediation technologies towards market with incorporation of specific SME’s and potential technology clients with industrially- and environmentally-relevant field demonstrations in both the EU and China
4. We will ensure practical and market relevance of the techniques being developed by EiCLaR, including an explicit road-map to show their route to implementation three years post project, determine their environmental burdens and their potential for delivering sustainability and value gains.
5. We are developing cross-cutting case study based decision support guidance using the "operating windows" concept to facilitate the inclusion of EiCLaR technologies in contaminated site remedy selection and identify viable opportunities for scale-up / enhancement of EiCLaR technologies.
6. We are drafting targeted “White Papers” to provide a technical briefing to the different practitioner audiences who may be influential in technology uptake, and technology agreements to provide a coherent pathway for technology implementation and market entry.
6. We are disseminating to and engaging with relevant EU and Chinese stakeholders to exploit and disseminate the technologies and tools developed, and facilitate uptake and development to TRL9 (project pipeline) and ensure our research is fully informed by their perspectives and relevant to their needs.
Specifically, we will industrialize our four technologies electro-Nanobioremediation (ENB), Monitored Bioaugmentation (MBR) and Biolectrochemical remediation (BER), and Enhanced Phytoremediation (EPR)
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were published in 2015 and are now widely adopted in sustainable development policy in Europe and China . The broad aspirations of the Work Program part are to contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) : affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; and climate action. In 2018 SURF-UK produced a review of how its sustainable remediation indicators were related to the UN SDGs. Hence a more extensive ambition is feasible. EiCLaR’s goal is to enable a larger amount of remediation to be done within existing financial and material resources by reducing costs and improving effectiveness, and to achieve this more sustainably, to maximize value to the environment, the wider economy and society. We will develop and utilize “green” energy efficient and low/zero chemical input approaches, which reduce resource consumption, but which also have potential to generate a range of wider environmental and climate change benefits such as carbon sequestration, renewable material generation, water rehabilitation, maintenance or improvement of soil fertility, urban climate management, etc. Taken together the impacts of EiCLaR can realize a wide range of benefits for Society (see figure).
2. We are moving our innovative bioremediation technologies from their current proof-of-concept level to their industrially- and environmentally-relevant demonstration.
These technologies enhance intensive and low input in situ biological approaches by integration with abiotic interventions including electro-chemical remediation, and nano remediation techniques, either in parallel or sequentially
3. We will drive our advances in innovative bioremediation technologies towards market with incorporation of specific SME’s and potential technology clients with industrially- and environmentally-relevant field demonstrations in both the EU and China
4. We will ensure practical and market relevance of the techniques being developed by EiCLaR, including an explicit road-map to show their route to implementation three years post project, determine their environmental burdens and their potential for delivering sustainability and value gains.
5. We are developing cross-cutting case study based decision support guidance using the "operating windows" concept to facilitate the inclusion of EiCLaR technologies in contaminated site remedy selection and identify viable opportunities for scale-up / enhancement of EiCLaR technologies.
6. We are drafting targeted “White Papers” to provide a technical briefing to the different practitioner audiences who may be influential in technology uptake, and technology agreements to provide a coherent pathway for technology implementation and market entry.
6. We are disseminating to and engaging with relevant EU and Chinese stakeholders to exploit and disseminate the technologies and tools developed, and facilitate uptake and development to TRL9 (project pipeline) and ensure our research is fully informed by their perspectives and relevant to their needs.
Specifically, we will industrialize our four technologies electro-Nanobioremediation (ENB), Monitored Bioaugmentation (MBR) and Biolectrochemical remediation (BER), and Enhanced Phytoremediation (EPR)
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were published in 2015 and are now widely adopted in sustainable development policy in Europe and China . The broad aspirations of the Work Program part are to contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) : affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; and climate action. In 2018 SURF-UK produced a review of how its sustainable remediation indicators were related to the UN SDGs. Hence a more extensive ambition is feasible. EiCLaR’s goal is to enable a larger amount of remediation to be done within existing financial and material resources by reducing costs and improving effectiveness, and to achieve this more sustainably, to maximize value to the environment, the wider economy and society. We will develop and utilize “green” energy efficient and low/zero chemical input approaches, which reduce resource consumption, but which also have potential to generate a range of wider environmental and climate change benefits such as carbon sequestration, renewable material generation, water rehabilitation, maintenance or improvement of soil fertility, urban climate management, etc. Taken together the impacts of EiCLaR can realize a wide range of benefits for Society (see figure).