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INTPART-International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research

Advancing EleCtrochemical processes for water safety and circularity (AECo)

Alternative title: Fremme elektrokjemiske prosesser for vannsikkerhet og sirkularitet (AECo)

Awarded: NOK 4.4 mill.

The AECo initiative is pioneering a transformative approach to water management and treatment in response to the escalating global water crisis. The urgency of this crisis stems from the soaring demand for water, threats to water security, and the intensifying droughts and floods, all exacerbated by climate change. At the heart of AECo is the drive to usher electrochemistry into the mainstream of water treatment practices. The project supports young researchers, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to champion these cutting-edge techniques. Moreover, by actively engaging end-users of these research outcomes in collaborative supervision and creative workshops, the project ensures that its innovations resonate with and are responsive to real-world needs and challenges. Contemporary solutions are being scrutinized for their overall effectiveness, affordability, and environmental impact, particularly concerning persistent organic compounds, micropollutants, and the purification of contaminated water. While traditional methods like distillation and membrane technology effectively extract organic matter, heavy metals, and other pollutants from water, their high operational costs and substantial energy requirements are significant drawbacks. This predicament underscores the pressing necessity for innovative, cost-effective, and eco-friendly alternatives in water treatment. The AECo project is at the vanguard of this innovation, fostering a premier international nexus for research and educational excellence. This endeavour is not just about advancing water and wastewater treatment through electrochemical processes; it is about weaving a stronger collaboration and expertise across Norway, the United States, and Canada. By doing so, the project aims to keep Norway at the leading edge of global water treatment science and education, ensuring its contributions are in lockstep with the evolving demands and aspirations of both the private and public sectors. Aligned with the ambitious goals of SDG-6, the project is dedicated to elevating water quality globally. This commitment involves curtailing pollution, halting waste dumping, limiting the dispersion of hazardous substances, significantly reducing the volume of untreated wastewater, and boosting the recycling and secure reutilization of water resources by the year 2030.

The AECo project aims to develop a world-class international research and education platform for advancing water and wastewater treatment technologies by combining them with electrochemical processes. It establishes long-term international cooperation between research groups and industrial partners from Norway, Canada and USA. The project ensures that Norway remains at the forefront of the global science and education in water treatment areas, increasing relevance of this education to the needs and expectations of the business and public sectors. The project addresses water-related challenges that limit water and resources recycling on the way to circular economy: (i) low efficiency of organic compounds removal in water and wastewater treatment by commonly used chemical coagulation processes; (ii) elimination of micropollutants and contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) from the water cycle; (iii) oil-water separation in offshore production. The AECo will accelerate the introduction of electrochemistry into water treatment practice by fostering a new generation of young researches capable of sustaining these innovations. The project involves potential end-users of the research findings including them to the co-supervision activities and creative workshops, driving lateral thinking and radical approaches to address research challenges of the project. The project supports the achievement of the SDG 6 in general and Target 6.3 in particular by introducing electrochemical processes to improve ambient water quality by eliminating, minimizing and significantly reducing different streams of pollution into water bodies. The project will help to meet key challenges in the public sector by providing new technological solutions for water safety and circularity.

Funding scheme:

INTPART-International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research