Project: New Waste Water Treatment Unit for PPCPs removal.

Maintaining and improving the aquatic environment is one of the main objectives of the European water policy. Surface and ground water are subject to pollution by waste water and various natural and synthetic chemicals. Such categories of compounds include synthetic organic chemicals, pesticides, drugs and endocrine disruptors are proven to be present in most of water bodies in Europe. According to the European Water Frame Directive 2000/60/EG “the ultimate aim … is to achieve the elimination of priority hazardous substances and contribute to achieving concentrations in the marine environment near background values for naturally occurring substances”. The overall goal of the present project is the development of a new tertiary treatment based on biotechnological treatment for a WWTP in order to remove PPCPs, so as to avoid these contaminants to reach the watercourse. This new treatment will consist of using fungal strains and their produced enzymes to remove this kind of contaminants from waste water streams. Most useful forms of applying fungus in bioreactors for waste water treatment are wet fungal pellets. In the new technology proposed in the present project new form of applying these microorganisms will be developed. This will be also an important scientific target of the project. On this context, new innovative resins will be developed and produced to be used as supporting and immobilising material for the improvement of fungal strains and enzymes pollutants removal efficiency. Final objective will represent indeed a technological breakthrough in the field of industrial biotechnologies for waste water treatment.

Acronym	PHARMA-FUN
Network	ETB-PRO
Call	7th call for proposals (Call 2012)

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
	Belgium		Belgium
	Idifarma Desarrollo Farmaceutico	Coordinator	Spain