ELECTRA

Electricity driven Low Energy and Chemical input Technology foR Accelerated bioremediation

Abstract

The ELECTRA project is a EU-China RTD joint initiative that will deliver 2 innovative sets of novel electromicrobiology based environmental biotechnologies, facilitating/improving electron transfer during microbial degradation processes. Our approach will accelerate the elimination of several classes of pollutants and mixtures thereof in contaminated wastewater, groundwater, sediment and soil. The first set of biotechnologies employs bioelectrochemical systems requiring low energy input and no chemical addition. The second set comprises biotechnologies, which necessitate no energy input and minimal chemical amendment using electromicrobial concepts. ELECTRA biotechnologies will build on recent groundbreaking advances in biotechnology to develop them for environmental bioremediation applications and test the 4 most advanced technologies during field trials under various environmentally relevant conditions in both Europe (4 sites with contaminated wastewater, groundwater, soil, and sediment) and China (4 sites: mirroring tests concept) to prove their efficiency and robustness. The ELECTRA project deliberately addresses the accelerated elimination of compounds representative of hydrocarbons and derivatives, emerging pollutants, metals and nutrients and mixtures thereof in environmentally relevant concentration as a wise and careful approach taking into account the real problem of contaminations by organic and inorganic pollutants as well as nutrients. ELECTRA is a consortium of European and Chinese partners for a 4-year project. The EC-funded consortium gathers 17 partners from 6 EU countries,1 Associated Country. 1 large Chinese company is part of the EC consortium without claiming any funding from the EC since NSFC finances only fundamental research and does not allow for the inclusion of companies as partners in NSFC projects. This company has a key/essential role in replicating field test experiments from European sites to Chinese sites.

Project details

Unibo Team Leader: Giulio Zanaroli

Unibo involved Department/s:
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica, Ambientale e dei Materiali
Dipartimento di Farmacia e Biotecnologie

Coordinator:
Fachhocschule Nordwestschweiz(Switzerland)

Other Participants:
Tuc Technical University Of Crete (Greece)
Helmholtz-Zentrum Fur Umweltforschung Gmbh - Ufz (Germany)
(Ude) Universitat Duisburg Essen (Germany)
"Sapienza" Universita' Di Roma (Italy)
ENI S.p.A. (Italy)
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna (Italy)
Budapest University Of Technology And Economics - Budapesti Műszaki És Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem (Hungary)
Avecom N.V. (Belgium)
Ieg - Technologie Gmbh (Germany)
Metfilter Ltd. (Spain)
Eidgenossisches Departement Fur Verteidigung, Bevolkerungsschutz Und Sport (Switzerland)
regenHU Ltd (Switzerland)
Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (Italy)
Universitat De Girona (Spain)
Universiteit Gent (Belgium)
Poten Environmental Group Co., Ltd. (China)

Total Eu Contribution: Euro (EUR) 4.995.056,25
Project Duration in months: 48
Start Date: 01/01/2019
End Date: 31/12/2022

Cordis webpage
Project website

Life on land This project contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 826244 This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 826244