Green Ultrafiltration Water Cleaning Technologies

Clean water is a key challenge in the 21th century, articulated in the UN sustainable development goal no. 6.

In close collaboration with industry and stakeholders, this project aims at developing new types of sustainable water treatment techniques that is, cheap, easy to maintain and can be applied in settings/countries where clean water is a challenge.

By using non-critical and non-toxic materials to eliminate contaminants of emerging concern and pathogens, including antibiotic resistant bacteria, the project aims to avoid their further spread in a safe and sustainable way.

We will develop a water cleaning concept, amenable for decentralized use, that will be validated on a small pilot scale comprising a series of modules: 1) An enzymatic step including nanoporous materials bearing enzymes and chelating functions to retain hazardous metals, 2) enzyme-mimetic nanomaterials, 3) nanoporous adsorbents, and finally 4) a photocatalytic step that ensures zero-discharge of contaminants.

Laboratory scale research will be implemented in reactor modules in collaboration with industrial partners. The evaluation of different combinations of modules will be an integral part of the project. Industrial partners will provide engineering solutions that allow testing of new materials/technologies.

Associated partners will evaluate the technology and spread r results, to various industries as well as stakeholders in the developing world.