Objective
During wastewater treatment, a significant amount of sewage sludge (SS) is generated as a by-product, with an estimated production in Europe alone of 2 bio tons/yr. SS use as fertilizer and anaerobic digestion are 2 disposal routes that comply with current legislative guidelines on waste disposal and environment. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is widely applied, resulting in volume reduction and biogas production. However, high heavy metal (HM) contents in SS impede the use of raw SS or AD effluent to be used as fertilizer.
Bioleaching is based on the activity of Fe-and S-oxidizing microbes, capable of degrading metal sulfides and solubilizing HM. Because of its potential to remove HMs from solid matrices, bioleaching has been considered as a promising technique for both raw SS and AD effluent. In this regard, studies have been performed on conventional oxidative bioleaching approach (OBL). However, the rate of HM dissolution through OBL is slow, it requires aeration and addition of leaching agents (acids, bases, etc), which increases costs. Also, the inevitable formation of by-products limits the process efficiency. Recently, anaerobic bioleaching (ABL) has been a choice to recover HMs of different sources,with benefits of acid production and minimization of by-products. However, up to now, ABL has not been introduced in SS treatment. Furthermore, the application of ABL to sewage sludge prior to AD digestion offers various potential advantages: (i) the bio-availability of HM (which serve as micronutrients to AD microorganisms) is increased, (ii) volatile fatty acids (VFA), very important AD intermediates, are produced; and (iii) the sludge is already in a reduced state before in enters the digesters.
In this research project, we will obtain essential knowledge about (1) ABL as sludge treatment, and (2) the effect of ABL on the efficiency of subsequent AD. By filling these gaps in knowledge, we are one step closer to a clean-up and valorisation strategy for sewage sludge.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
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)
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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-2017
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
3000 Leuven
Belgium
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.