How the work is organised over 48 months, the methods behind each module and where the technology is headed.
The 48-month project is structured into 14 interconnected Work Packages (WPs).
Design, technical, safety, End-of-Life (EoL) and data framework definitions.
Production of controlled MF wastewater and in silico toxicity profiling.
Engineering photoanodes, bacterial strains, SynComs and bioelectrodes.
Genome-scale metabolic models, DFT computational chemistry and unit process modeling.
Testing PEC, SynCom biotransformation, BEC nutrient recovery and product separation.
Stepwise coupling of PEC, SynComs, and BES into a functional prototype for real wastewater validation.
Integrated process modeling, unified LCA, TEA and risk/sustainability reporting.
Dissemination activities, IP protection and commercialization strategies.
Project management, financial administration and FAIR data management.
Strategic alignment and collaborative activities within the EIC Pathfinder Challenge Portfolio.
Pilot-scale textile equipment creates controlled microplastic/microfiber dispersions (PES/PET, PA, cotton mixtures) with standardized analytical characterization (e.g., ISO 4484) before moving to real industrial effluents.
Earth-abundant metal-oxide photoanodes (e.g., Fe₂O₃, WO₃, BiVO₄, TiO₂) enhanced with dopants and surface co-catalysts break down resistant polymer bonds to produce specific monomeric targets (e.g., ethylene glycol, terephthalic acid, caprolactam) and selectively catalyze their oxidation to valuable products (e.g., glycolic acid).
Using polyelectrolyte-driven electrostatic cell assembly, degrader strains (e.g., Rhodococcus, Pseudomonas) and producer strains (e.g., Actinomycetes) are co-arranged to optimize metabolic flux, overcome diffusion limits and yield polyketide scaffolds.
Electroactive biofilms at the electrodes eliminate residual soluble pollutants while selective ion-exchange membranes concentrate ammonium, nitrate and phosphate for circular reuse.
Including DFT quantum chemical calculations, spatiotemporal genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) and mechanistic mass/energy balance process models ensures bi-directional feedback between experiment and computation.
Treatment of wastewater generated during industrial dyeing, scouring, finishing and washing operations.
Source-level interception of synthetic microfibers released during domestic and commercial laundering cycles.
Local production of bio-based specialty chemicals, fine-chemical precursors and therapeutic scaffolds directly from industrial waste streams.
