Project description
A new approach to clean water
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals used in many industries, but they have become a serious environmental problem. They are resistant to breakdown and are commonly found in water near industrial areas, posing significant health risks, including cancer. Current water treatment methods struggle to remove PFAS completely, leaving contaminated sites across Europe. A solution is urgently needed to protect both drinking water and the environment. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the HERO4PFAS project is developing low-cost materials that use UV light to produce hydrated electrons capable of breaking down PFAS. This new technology aims to create efficient and affordable water treatment systems that can fully eliminate these harmful chemicals.
Objective
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals produced for several applications, ubiquitous in water bodies close to industrialised regions, and with recognized associated issues to human health (e.g. carcinogenicity). Being among the most recalcitrant class of emerging contaminants, an efficient water treatment able to degrade PFAS will represent an outstanding technology, not only for the recovery of already contaminated sites (impressively spread in Europe), but also for drinking- and waste-water treatment plants. The project proposal, “Hydrated Electrons from iRradiated metal-free semicOnductors for PFAS degradation in water (HERO4PFAS)”, focuses on the development and investigation of wide band gap semiconductors able to photo-produce hydrated electrons under ultraviolet (UV) light to eliminate PFAS from water. The main goal will be to evolve from the state-of-the-art homogeneous advanced reduction processes (ARPs) towards heterogeneous systems to be employed in real cases. Since very expensive materials are required to photo-produce hydrated electrons (e.g. diamond-carbon), in this project low-cost photocatalysts based on hexagonal boron nitride will be prepared, and their ability in the degradation of PFAS studied under different conditions (type of irradiation, pH, dissolved oxygen). Systems based on heterogeneous UV-ARP will be implemented for the removal of PFAS from retentate streams of advanced membrane filtration systems and coupled with advanced oxidation processes in a holistic treatment train able to reach the complete PFAS mineralization. HERO4PFAS will fill the gap between PFAS degradation and the development of a cost-efficient heterogeneous photo-ARP.
With the support of my supervisor (Prof. Minella) at University of Turin, I will diversify my individual competences to materials science and UV-ARP chemistry, boosting my career as future expert on photocatalysis and water treatment technology.
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.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering water treatment processes wastewater treatment processes
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis photocatalysis
- natural sciences chemical sciences electrochemistry electrolysis
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics semiconductivity
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry metalloids
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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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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.
10124 Torino
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.