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EUROSTARS-EUROSTARS

E!115526 HYDROCAT - Hydrodynamic cavitation powered catalytic wastewater treatment and hybrid biological treatment

Alternative title: E!115526 HYDROCAT - En kombinert hydrodynamiske kavitasjon drevet katalytisk og hybrit biologisk avfallsvann behandling

Awarded: NOK 6.0 mill.

The accumulation of persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) micropollutants in the environment is an issue that is attracting increasing attention internationally due to its impacts on the natural environment and human health. Consequently, there is a trend towards more stringent regulations to limit the discharge of PMT micropollutants in industrial and municipal wastewaters. However, at present there is a lack of suitable technologies that can meet these limits in a cost-effective manner. The HYDROCAT project proposes a novel treatment process for efficiently degrading PMT chemicals. The treatment is based around the patented, catalytic nanomaterial of Oxyle that degrades persistent chemicals by scavenging energy from the wastewater flow. The catalytic technology from Oxyle will be used in combination with a hybrid biological treatment, HyVAB, developed by Biowater Technology. HyVAB combines anaerobic digestion and a patented biofilm technology and will be used for pre-treatment of high chemical/biological oxygen demand wastewater before removing micropollutants. In the project, both technologies will be optimized at lab-scale before designing and constructing pilots capable of treating 3-5 m3 of wastewater per day. SINTEF will develop a multiscale, multiphysics model to aid in the simulation-based design of Oxyle's technology. The combined catalytic and biological treatment will then be demonstrated at a selected pilot site for a duration of 5-6 months of stable operation. The results from the pilot campaign will be used by SINTEF to perform techno-economic and life cycle assessments of the proposed treatment process at full-scale implementation, and by Oxyle and Biowater Technology to prepare a preliminary front-end engineering design of the technologies and develop the business case for commercial implementation. Upon successful completion, HYDROCAT will deliver a market-disrupting solution for mitigating the threat of PMT chemicals to our environment.

The accumulation of persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) micropollutants in the environment is an issue that is attracting increasing attention internationally due to its impacts on the natural environment and human health. Consequently, there is a trend towards more stringent regulations to limit the discharge of PMT micropollutants in industrial and municipal wastewaters. However, at present there is a lack of suitable technologies that can meet these limits in a cost-effective manner. The HYDROCAT project proposes a novel treatment process for efficiently degrading PMT chemicals. The treatment is based around the patented, catalytic nanomaterial of Oxyle that degrades persistent chemicals by scavenging energy from the wastewater flow. The catalytic technology from Oxyle will be used in combination with a hybrid biological treatment, HyVAB, developed by Biowater Technology. HyVAB combines anaerobic digestion and a patented biofilm technology and will be used for pre-treatment of high chemical/biological oxygen demand wastewater before removing micropollutants. In the project, both technologies will be optimized at lab-scale before designing and constructing pilots capable of treating 3-5 m3 of wastewater per day. SINTEF will develop a multiscale, multiphysics model to aid in the simulation-based design of Oxyle's technology. The combined catalytic and biological treatment will then be demonstrated at a selected pilot site for a duration of 5-6 months of stable operation. The results from the pilot campaign will be used by SINTEF to perform techno-economic and life cycle assessments of the proposed treatment process at full-scale implementation, and by Oxyle and Biowater Technology to prepare a preliminary front-end engineering design of the technologies and develop the business case for commercial implementation. Upon successful completion, HYDROCAT will deliver a market-disrupting solution for mitigating the threat of PMT chemicals to our environment.

Funding scheme:

EUROSTARS-EUROSTARS