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 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.
- Currently, concerns about sustainability are increasing in the construction sector, due to its contribution to climate change. Approximately a third of carbon dioxide emissions are produced by this sector in the construction phase and in the functioning of buildings.
- The production of biogas through anaerobic digestion has been increasing exponentially in Europe in recent years. This is because it can be produced locally and has a clear positive effect on waste recycling, the generation of clean energy, sustainable development or climate action. In this context, the FertiLab project was launched, with the participation of researchers from the Department of Agri Food Engineering and Biotechnology (DEAB) of the UPC.
- The research groups Center for Structural Integrity, Micromechanics and Reliability of Materials (CIEFMA), Eco-Friendly Plastics and Composites (e-PLASCOM) and Innovation in Materials and Molecular Engineering (IMEM) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) – specialists in the structure and properties of steels and metal alloys in general, the properties and transformation of plastics, and protection against corrosion, respectively – collaborate with the company URD (Urban Refuse Development) in the project Automatic Waste Collection (AWC).
