Acronym REMAS
Category
Marine Biotechnology
Title Remediation of saline waters under the influence of multicontaminants (inorganic and emerging pollutants), through the application of magnetic nanoparticles and biological waste: ecological and human risk assessment Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National-European Coordinator Cláudia Batista Lopes Coordinator email NA
Coordinator institution
CESAM - Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (Portugal)
Institutions involved
UC - University of Coimbra (Portugal) ,
Start year 2013 End year 2015 Funding (€) € 152,519 Website https://www.cesam-la.pt/projetos/remas-remediacao-de-aguas-salinas-sob-a-influencia-de-multicontaminantes-poluentes-inorganicos-e-emergentes-atraves-da-aplicacao-de-nanoparticulas-magneticas-e-residuos-biologicos-avaliacao-do-r/ Summary "The progressive increase in the world population and the growing need for goods and products have led to the production of large quantities of effluents, with high levels of pollutants, and the appearance of new contaminants. The deterioration of natural resources, in particular water, and the human and ecological risk caused by the presence of contaminants, have led to a growing interest on the part of researchers in the development of technologies for water decontamination. Most remediation studies target freshwater, however, saline water is often the ultimate recipient of pollutants and the source of water used in many aquacultures. The RemAS project aims to fill this gap and its main objectives are:
1) develop a water treatment technology, based on the application of bio-waste and nanoparticles (NPs) for the removal of inorganic (Hg, Cd and Pb) and emerging contaminants (NPs-Ag and Au), coexisting in saline waters from an aquaculture;
2) assess the effective efficiency of the remediation process, through ecological risk assessment, and the effects and bioaccumulation on an aquaculture species of high commercial value (human risk), before and after treatment;
3) calculate the critical values of these pollutants in waters and fish from the legal limits in fish and the bioconcentration factor.
The approach of this project allows us to explore two of the most promising areas in the field of water treatment: bio- and nano-technology. Biosorption is an efficient, low-cost biotechnology suitable for the treatment of water with a low level of contamination. The use and reuse of biological waste make this method of environmental remediation particularly attractive. Recently, Gong et al., 2011 used algae in the remediation of NPs, which illustrates the growing interest in this area and the potential of biosorption in the treatment of water contaminated with emerging pollutants. The application of nanotechnology in water treatment is creating many expectations, and some authors argue that most water quality problems could be solved by the use of products/processes derived from this technology. However, the application of nanotechnology for this purpose raises some questions related to the possible toxicity of these materials, both to humans and ecosystems. In this project, biological waste (used cork stoppers, rice husks and algae) and magnetic NPs synthesized by members of this team will be used. Recent studies conducted within this group prove that NPs and bio-waste (submitted for publication) have a high aptitude for removing metals. In addition, the small amount of material required and the possibility of reuse make the remediation process economically viable. To evaluate the efficiency of the process, the levels of pollutants will be quantified after treatment, as well as a battery of ecotoxicological tests will be applied to the materials and water, before and after treatment.
The effects of fish exposure to metals and NPs and the bioaccumulation of contaminants in different tissues will be evaluated under near-real conditions using water and a species produced in aquaculture. These tests will make it possible to assess the ecological and human risk and to understand the phenomena of transfer of metals and NPs from water to the food chain.
The innovative aspects of this proposal consist in the development of a water remediation methodology based on bio- and nano-technology and its application in saline waters, under the influence of multicontaminants (metals/NPs). This project also aims to address the lack of information on the efficiency of treatment processes under real conditions; interactions between pollutants and between pollutants and aquatic species; the toxicity of NPs and mixtures (metals/NPs) and the possible transfer of NPs to the food chain.
This project involves a multidisciplinary team, with researchers from the Departments of Chemistry and Biology of the University of Aveiro, inserted in the CESAM research unit and the CFE of the University of Coimbra, with extensive experience in the area of water remediation; synthesis/characterization of NPs; evaluation of contamination with metals in environmental/biological matrices and in the conduction of ecotoxicity tests. It also involves the participation of two companies, ACUINOVA and Álvaro Borges, Lda."
Keywords
Food safety;
Waste water;
Land-based aquaculture;
Algae;
Waste valorization;
Toxic substances;
Fish;
Wastes;
Marine Region
0
NA
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