WHAT IS BIOTREAT?

The aim of BIOTREAT is to develop new technologies for bioremediation of drinking water resources contaminated with micropollutants such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Micro-pollutants are organic pollutants that occur in contaminated water at extremely low concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 10 μg/l, but still above the EU limit values. The basis of the proposed technologies is bioaugmentation, which in the present context is the introduction of specific degrading microorganisms or microbial consortia into existing sand filters at waterworks, mobile biofilters placed close to groundwater abstraction wells, sand barriers between surface waters and abstraction wells, and subterranean protective barriers established to prevent micropollutants from entering into aquifers.

The project addresses the scientific requirement of call FP7-KBBE.2010.3.5-01 Biotechnology for the environment – soil and water treatment and bioremediation, emphasising the need to improve the effectiveness of water depollution and treatment technologies through the development of reliable and predictable biotechnological processes. Clean drinking water is a limited resource, not only in Third World countries but also in many European regions. It is becoming increasingly difficult to meet the quality standards of the European Drinking Water Directive regarding chemical residues of pesticides and other micropollutants and many potential drinking water resources have been abandoned due to exceedance of the EU limit values for these micropollutants.

The new technologies developed under BIOTREAT will help ensure clean drinking water for European citizens. In addition, they will contribute to the remediation of polluted water resources by enabling exploitation of water resources that otherwise have been or will be abandoned. BIOTREAT brings together a consortium of research institutions and four SMEs, each with complementary expertise. The inclusion of European SMEs in the BIOTREAT consortium will ensure industrial relevance and future exploitation of the developed technologies.

An End-user Board with participation of waterworks, regional authorities and other institutions with an interest in the project will be established to couple the research activities to management, regulatory, safety, financial and environmental aspects of the technologies.