REDUCTION IN THE USE OF RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION


Water treatment: purification and reuse
- Biotechnologies for the recovery of water and other resources.
- Development of tools for support in the implementation and management of wastewater reuse.
- Recovery of ammonium from wastewater and valorisation for agricultural use.
- Restoration of water resources with purified water (artificial aquifer recharge).
- Green synthesis of metal nanoparticles based on acid mine water and extracts from agri-food waste.
- Production of biostimulants from cyanobacteria and wastewater.
Emissions and pollutants
- Zero Ship Emissions.
- Selective absorption of SOx and NOx from combustion gases.
- Advanced biological technologies to eliminate gaseous pollutants.
- Biovalorisation of CO2 for sustainable production of biomethane.
- Pollutant detection systems through image processing and sensors.
- Catalysts to eliminate and transform CO2 into ethanol.
- Elimination and mitigation of pollution caused by the use of pesticides.
RECYCLING AND WASTE VALORISATION



Textile
- Treatment and reuse of dye wastewater.
- New spun fabrics from clothes waste and textile scraps.
- Automatic system for classifying textile fibre for recycling.
Construction
- Development of sustainable concrete from incineration waste.
- Valorisation of paper industry waste for the manufacture of asphalts and concretes.
- New materials for infrastructure from MARPOL waste.
Food
- Solutions to improve the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycle in the agri-food industry and cut emissions.
- Sustainable treatment of wastewater and food waste.
- Design of sustainable compounds manufactured from the valorisation of agri-food waste.
- Integrated, sustainable management of industrial waste from cork.



Plastics and polymers
- Recycling and revalorisation of opaque PET bottles into high added-value materials.
- Transformation of cellulose materials into advanced, environmentally friendly bioproducts.
- Obtaining biofilms with barrier properties from renewable resources.
Metals
- Smart bioprocesses to recover metals at the end of the life cycle of mobile and electronic equipment.
- Valorisation of titanium sheet waste for the production of metal powder.
- Circular processing of salt mine water to recover minerals and metals.
- Study of processes of attenuation of metal and inorganic compounds through mineral nanoparticles.
Batteries and vehicles
- Models of use and management of second-life batteries.
- Hybrid energy storage systems for renewable energy production plants.
- Improvement in the efficiency and useful life of PEM fuel cells.
- High-performance modular batteries for urban sustainable electric mobility services.
ECODESIGN



Product
- Ecodesign of products on a large scale and internal parts for vehicles.
- Biodegradable microencapsulation techniques for fragrancies.
- Development of cellulose microdevices of low environmental impact for immediate biodiagnosis.
- New products for the construction and automation industries based on biomaterials.
Industrial process
- Advanced, reconfigurable manufacturing processes that can be adapted to consumer preferences.
- Methods and tools for the implementation of circular economy models in the process industry.
- Recovery and valorisation of byproducts of industrial processes.
Urbanism (territory and infrastructure)
- Greenhouses integrated into rooftop terraces: symbiosis of energy, water and CO2 emissions with the building.
- Biosustainable solutions to improve the acoustic properties and fire-resistance of building cladding.
- Recovery and valorisation of urban digestates.
RELATED PROJECTS
- The Technological Development Centre for Remote Acquisition and Data Processing Systems (SARTI) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) participates in the SEASLAG project, which contributes to measurement and test systems to assess the characteristics of the biomaterials developed in the project, to regenerate marine ecosystems. This material incorporates byproducts from the metal and agrifood industries.
- The research group IMEM-BRT of the UPC leads the TherGel project, which aim is to combine the properties of both materials in a conductive polymer hydrogel that could be used in water evaporation systems, as filtration membranes and as solid-state electrolytes that are active in electrochemical cells of capacitive deionisation of salt water.
- The research group Plastics and Ecological Composites (e-PLASCOM) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), and the Catalan Plastics Center (CCP), work in a project that aims to design ad hoc natural rubber-based composites, with specific compositions and geometries, to be optimally integrated into both EC and BC technologies at prototype level.
- The research group Eco-friendly Plastics and Composites (e-PLASCOM) at the Universitat Politècnica Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) is participating in the European Advanced Engineering and Research of aeroGels for Environment and Life Sciences (AERoGELS) project. This project is designed to bring together the knowledge of academic, industrial and regulatory experts on the research and technology of aerogels at European scale.