Innovative Decentralized and low cost treatment systems for Opimal Urban wastewater Management – IDOUM

This project is structured around four work packages (WPs)
WP1 Selection of chemical and microbial indicators
Task 1 Screening of antibiotics and ARB&G based on LC-high resolution MS and on culture-dependent and culture-independent methods (quantitative PCR).
Task 2 Developed analytical methodologies will be applied to properly evaluate the possible antibiotic resistance proliferation through wastewater reuse and efficiency of wastewater treatment technologies.

WP2 Development of biological-based treatment systems
Task 1 Phytoremediation with endophytic bacteria inoculation. Identification of endophytic microorganisms of phragmites australis and bio-inoculation of constructed wetlands
Task 2 Phycoremediation with specific algae species isolated in South Africa.
Task 3 Mycoremediation with specific Trichoderma sp under controlled conditions. The best performing fungal specie will be inoculated in constructed wetlands.

WP3 Development of nano-structured catalytic materials for oxidant activation
Task 1 nano-CuO assisted generation of sulfate radical and others reactive oxygen species in CuO/persulfate systems
Task 2 Modified iron minerals and iron mining residues for heterogeneous Fenton processes with H2O2

WP4 Technology integration and technology demonstration
Task 1 Technology demonstration. Feasibility and technical capability of the combined (biological + chemical) operation will be planned at several experimental sites.
Task 2 Technology benchmarking. Proposed technologies will be benchmarked against other treatment methods (for instance, UV-C or MBR) in terms of energy consumption (electric energy per order) and the cost of chemical addition (if required).

The following results are expected.
- Development of cost effective technological solutions tailored to remove antibiotic residues and ARB&Gs from domestic wastewaters that could be adopted by small municipalities, farmers' associations or others end-uers without significant capital costs or on-site operators.
- Transition from traditional centralized energy-intensive water management practices towards satellite production of treated wastewater for its safe local reuse - avoiding large capital cost and reduced operation and maintenance – supporting local water recycling policies.
- Data-derived prioritization and selection of a limited set of antibiotics and ARB&Gs will facilitate data acquisition in the monitoring of wastewater and the assessment of technology efficiency
- The application of proposed technologies could reduce the potential source of selective pressure in conventional biological WWTPs that often elevates the levels of antibiotic resistance in native bacteria and could alleviate the antibiotic resistance problem which is a major health security challenge in the 21st Century
- This project is expected to have an impact on environmental and public health by defining lists of priority contaminants in each participating country
- Implementing of wastewater reuse will have a significant added value in the economy of the participating countries in trying to establish solid water balances, avoiding at the same time investments on more expensive and energy exhaustive means like water desalination.
The project will contribute to 1) the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on minimum requirements for water reuse where the annex II also specifies specific requirements concerning pharmaceuticals and others organic micropollutants and 2) UN Goal 6 “to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all«.

- Groundbreaking research on the performance of the heterogeneous Fenton processes and natural-based treatment systems such as constructed wetlands will provide the basis for developing high performing treatment systems and enable to go beyond the research program proposed here and contribute to the development of other water treatment applications.

- patent application will open the possibility of job creation for young researchers through spin-off companies

- Research at the interface of environmental / analytical chemistry, bioengineering and nanotechnology will yield scientific publications in high impact peer-reviewed journals (two by partners) and presentations at international conferences attended by relevant scientific groups and stakeholders (e.g., IWA Water Reuse and Micropol&Ecohazard Conferences).

- the findings and outcomes of this project will undoubtedly open up new avenues for patent application

Reuse of treated wastewater is increasingly seen as one of the solutions to tackle the water scarcity problem and to limit the pollution load to surface water. Yet, using reclaimed water for non-potable purposes and particularly to irrigate food crops presents an exposure pathway for antibiotics and antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes (ARB&G) to enter the food chain. Wastewater reuse is currently of particular concern as potential source of selective pressure that elevates the levels of antibiotic resistance in native bacteria. There are also growing concerns that environmental concentrations of antibiotics exert a selective pressure on clinically relevant bacteria. These acute strains call for a major shift towards a more efficient monitoring strategies based on a limited number of indicators that would facilitate the assessment of the anthropogenic impact on the water cycle. This project aims at: i) establishing monitoring strategies based on the data-derived priorization of a set of indicator conatminants and pathogens for domestic wastewater, and ii) developping energy-efficient, cost-effective, and robust treatment systems for the decentralized production of treated wastewater mainly from domestic wastewater. Diagnostic indicators will be selected based on their regular occurrence, potential for mobility and toxicological relevance. The second major objective of this project is to design wastewater treatment technologies based on the combination of biology-based treatment systems using selected plants and microorganisms (e.g., fungi, endophytic bacteria and microalgae) and the use of low-cost engineered nanostructured materials for the catalytical activation of oxidants (persulfate and hydrogen peroxide). Such decentralized treatment systems using smart technologies will be tailored to remove key antibiotics and ARB&G. Thus, IDOUM project will help to protect our freshwater supply, reduce the risk of human exposure to toxic compounds and of antibioresistance spreading, and provide access to alternative sources of water.