Project: Sustainability Assessment of Nanomaterial Application in Water Treatment Technologies (WP3)

Host institution: USC – University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Supervisor(s): Maite Moreira (PhD promoter)

Objectives: To perform a Life-Cycle Sustainability Analysis of nanomaterials used in water treatment technologies, evaluating their environmental, economic, and social impacts.

DC15 will undertake a holistic sustainability assessment of nanomaterials in water treatment, employing process modeling and material flow analysis, using tools like SuperPro Designer or Aspen Plus for scaling laboratory findings. This approach integrates a Material Flow Analysis with Life Cycle Inventory to gauge the efficiency of resource use, providing detailed input for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). DC15 will also analyze nanomaterials’ efficiency from an LCA perspective, examining environmental impacts, pinpointing hotspots, and conducting sensitivity analyses. Economic viability will be assessed through Life Cycle Costing (LCC), incorporating market trends and process modeling data to evaluate financial parameters and environmental costs. Additionally, DC15 will integrate social impact assessments, measuring the community benefits and social welfare improvements offered by new water treatment solutions, ensuring compliance with effluent discharge standards.

Expected results: Modeling for the scale-up of the nanomaterial-based wastewater treatment process and analysis of its sustainability profile, avoiding the transfer of pollutants and ensuring low emissions.

Planned secondments:

• TU Delft (Sup.: Jules van Lier): M22-24 (3 months): Training in nanomaterial synthesis for water application.
• PURE (Sup.: Nelis De Rouck): M29-32 (4 months): Assessing the operation of full scale water treatment: costs and design aspects.

Enrolment in Doctoral degree: Escola de Doutoramento Internacional da Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (EDIUS), Chemical and Environmental Engineering Doctoral Program

Duration of the contract: 36 months (26 months NANAQUA MSCA DN 101169530 + 10 months additional USC financing through recently started projects – the ReWoW and Sea4Future projects)

Benefits:

• Monthly Living allowance: 3 400€ (Adjusted by applying a country correction coefficient of 95,6% for Spain – cf. HE MSCA 2023-2025 Work Programme) – Contribution to the overall salary cost of the researcher, including all compulsory contributions to social security (of both employers and employees!) and direct taxes.
• Monthly Mobility allowance: 600€ – Contribution to researcher’s costs linked to his/her relocation and personal travel and household expenses
• Monthly Family allowance (if applicable): 660€* – Additional contribution in case researcher has family charges (partner by marriage or a relationship of equivalent legal status, and/or dependent children)