Real-time imaging and photocatalysis mediated biodegradability of microplastics in a continuous flow system

The relevance of RealIMP lies in the need to develop and optimize sustainable technologies to remove contaminants of emerging concern, such as microplastics and organic micropollutants, from water, contributing to the access to cheap and clean water sources to large, urbanized centers and small rural communities.Solar light-driven photocatalysis has great potential to overcome this challenge due to the virtually zero cost of solar power, and the low cost and abundance of the well-established TiO2 photocatalyst.

However, it remains limited to niche applications due to its low photonic efficiency and elevated costs.

RealIMP will tackle these issues by using doped TiO2, tuned for the visible light of the solar spectrum, and pilot scale photoreactors adapted and optimized to real-life applications, using statistical Design of Experiments methods.

Another innovation will be the development of ultrasonic acoustic sensors to detect the microplastics spatial distribution in both static and continuous-flow conditions and to assess their adsorption on the catalysts surface via geophysical inversion.

The biodegradability of the microplastics after photocatalytic experiments will be assessed under simulated real conditions using a respirometer.

To further simulate real conditions, the influence of the presence of organic micropollutants, such as antibiotics, including their adsorption on microplastics, will be investigated regarding microplastic's degradability.

Empirical models of prediction for photocatalysis and biodegradability kinetic rates, energy consumption, and economic costs will be obtained.Besides providing cutting-edge technological and scientific results in this field, as well as interdisciplinary training to broaden my expertise, RealIMP will prioritize outreach activities to reduce the gap between academy, industry and the general public such as workshops, educational, and raising awareness campaigns.