Project Portugal 2030

Summary

MAIN GOAL NEWATER aims to enhance wastewater treatment efficiency at a lower cost by combining the advantages of membrane technology with AOPs. The project targets to develop innovative photo/electroactive membranes with antifouling properties through additive manufacturing able to degrade pollutants while allowing water molecules to pass through at a faster flow rate. This technology aspires to provide the water industry with solutions to remove >80% of the harmful pollutants (CECs, ARB and ARGs), at a lower cost through AM, to allow the safe use of treated WW for agricultural purposes, coping with water scarcity, and aligned with the SDG goal Clean Water and Sanitation. NOVELTY NEWATER goes beyond the state-of-the-art by developing a versatile and scalable photo/electrocatalytic membrane through AM for water treatment in a continuous flow process. The proposal will explore, FOR THE FIRST TIME, the potential of AM technology to enable the production of multifunctional, modular, scalable, resilient and energy-efficient 3D-printed photo/electroactive systems that are designed to be deployed for fit-for-purpose distributed treatment applications. This novel approach will grant the precise integration of multiple materials to obtain multifunctional, scalable and low-cost membranes with precisely controlled morphology, porosity, conductivity and tunable flow dynamics for effective water treatment in a continuous flow process. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The overall project design focuses on 3 specific objectives (O) articulated through the actions' proposed methodology, outcomes and dissemination strategies, please see Scheme 1. The specific objectives are: O1: Development of new photo/electroactive catalysts at low-cost, environmentally innocuous and highly efficient catalysts for the generation of reactive species. A correlative study between the material properties and the efficiency in removing CECs will allow develop and identify the best-performing material. O2: Prepare photo/electroactive membranes by additive manufacturing: incorporating the best-performing catalyst by post-surface catalyst deposition and/or blending within the ink. Different AM techniques and matrix materials will be explored to prepare scalable photocatalytic and conductive membranes with the proper physicochemical properties, design, conductivity, porosity, and antifouling properties that allow the removal of water pollutants (>80% removal). O3: Development of a PECM prototype on a modular reactor incorporating the membrane to work in a continuous flow process towards the cleaning requirements of various WW segments. Distinct designs and geometries will be explored to study fit-for-purpose industrial relevant applications and demonstrate the process scaling.