Project Portugal 2030

Summary

This project aims to develop innovative waste-derived catalysts for advanced oxidation processes (AOP). Focus will be put on finding a more efficient, competitive, and sustainable way of using AOP to degrade highly toxic and recalcitrant compounds from wastewaters and biological sludge. Within AOP, Fenton and sulphate-based processes will be studied since they are recognised as very efficient in dealing with recalcitrant compounds and present well explored technical advantages in comparison with other AOP. The innovative solutions crafted in this project will add value to waste materials and keep them within the economic cycle longer, echoing the priorities of the EU Action Plan for Circular Economy. Beyond fostering circular economy principles, this initiative is poised to promote industrial symbiosis, repurposing industrial waste and byproducts in municipal wastewater treatment. This strategy resonates with the EU Action Plan for Circular Economy and the Industry and Manufacturing R&I Agenda of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. In this project, the target pollutants are active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), which are excreted by patients into the sewer and directed to wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). API are particularly concerning emerging contaminants due to the lack of harmonised disposal regulations and scarce information on their long-term environmental effects (Ortúzar et al. 2022). Several health impacts have been associated to API, from organ disorder to genetic expression change (Samal, Mahapatra, and Hibzur Ali 2022). Moreover, antibiotics in the environment may foster the spreading of antibiotic resistance genes, which has been classified as a global public health crisis by the World Health Organization (Antimicrobial Resistance: Global Surveillance Report). In alignment with the EU Strategic Approach to Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (EU Communication 128/2019), our project acknowledges the pressing need to enhance the monitoring of areas impacted by hospital effluents and address the cumulative effects of various pharmaceuticals in the environment. Committed to advancing this agenda, our project aligns with the EU's resolve to invest in technologies enhancing pharmaceutical removal and upgrading urban WWTPs with more sophisticated treatment technologies. Another novel aspect of project Waste2Catalyst is that it will study the removal of recalcitrant API not only from wastewaters, but also from the biological sludge produced at the same wastewater treatment plant. This aspect is crucial, considering the reported presence of pharmaceuticals in sludge due to their low solubility (Shraim et al. 2017). By removing pharmaceuticals from the sludge, this project opens new possibilities for sludge valorisation, particularly regarding its safe incorporation in the soil. The groundbreaking technological solutions developed in this project will aim at ensuring that treated sludge meets the quality standards imposed by Portuguese legislation (DL 276/2009) and European legislation (Council Directive 86/278/EEC, last amended by EU Regulation 2019/1010). Our project aligns with the EU's commitment to research “cost-effective methods for reducing the presence of pharmaceuticals in slurry, manure, and sewage sludge to enable their use in the circular economy” (EU Communication 128/2019).