BCMaterials along with Ikerbasque researchers are developing next-generation nanomaterials of natural origin for water decontamination and revalorization. These new materials are not only capable of removing emerging pollutants such as antibiotics and heavy metals like arsenic, but also of recovering critical, high-added-value elements for industrial use, such as rare earths, cobalt, and lithium. This research has a strong positive impact on the environment, human health, and the economy.
BCMaterials’ work in this field is part of two European projects: MERLIN and SELFAQUASENS, developed in collaboration with several international partners. Both projects aim to create membranes/filters based on naturally derived polymers functionalized with nanomaterials, either to absorb pollutants or to degrade them.
Sunlight to turn emerging pollutants into H₂O
“In the MERLIN project, we are working on membranes that harness sunlight to degrade emerging water pollutants such as antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. One of the project’s major innovations is the use of nanoscale engineering to design semiconductor materials based on abundant and low-cost metal oxides. These materials are photocatalytic and, at the same time, generate heat on their own when absorbing solar energy, which accelerates the degradation of pollutants until they are converted into H₂O,” explains Maibelín Rosales, BCMaterials scientist and project leader.
The presence of antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in drinking water is a major public health concern, and projects like MERLIN are essential to help mitigate it. It is estimated that 35,000 deaths occur each year in Europe due to antimicrobial-related diseases, and by 2050 the number could reach 10 million deaths annually worldwide.
Recovering critical materials for industry
The second technological approach developed at BCMaterials focuses on pollutant absorption using metal–organic frameworks, or MOFs. These materials gained worldwide recognition after their discoverers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In this case, the SELFAQUASENS project aims to integrate these MOFs into membranes capable of capturing heavy metals while simultaneously recovering industrially critical and scarce elements such as rare earths, lithium, and cobalt—materials found, for example, in many of our everyday electronic devices.
“The membranes developed in the SELFAQUASENS project can also monitor the filtration process to optimize water treatment. We are currently testing the membranes in water with natural arsenic contamination, acidic water from copper mining, and saline water rich in lithium. In our region, they would be an ideal complement to conventional water treatment processes, helping to eliminate persistent pollutants such as PFAs, which are highly harmful to both the environment and human health,” explains Roberto Fernández de Luis, principal investigator of the project at BCMaterials.
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