SENSO3 DEVELOPS AN INNOVATIVE SYSTEM FOR THE TREATMENT OF URBAN WASTEWATER BASED ON OZONE AND CONTROLLED BY NANOBIOSENSORS – IN852A 2016/55

• This new wastewater treatment system will be complementary to the current ones and will enable the elimination of microcontaminants such as pesticides.
• Part of the 2016 ConectaPEME Program, the project consortium is led by NANOIMMUNOTECH and is completed by the companies TAYSUNAVE, SYSPRO and GESECO AGUAS. AIMEN participate as a collaborating entity.
• SENSO3 uses sensors based on nanobiotechnology for the monitoring of pollutants that will improve the control of the treatment and reduce the costs of analysis and energy.

The main objective of the SENSO3 project (Elimination of pollutants in urban wastewater through controlled ozonation through biosensors) is the development of a treatment system for the ozonation of microcontaminants in water and their monitoring and control using optical biosensors based on gold nano prisms, to optimize their elimination while also minimizing maintenance and operating expenses.

The biosensor, based on the HEATSENS® technology of the NANOIMMUNOTECH company, the project leader, is part of a system that controls water sampling, the measurement process and communicates with the pilot ozonation unit and the treatment plant. The complete system is validated at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the province of Pontevedra managed by GESECO AGUAS.

At present, the methods of analysis of these substances in water are complex since they require a very laborious test procedure, highly qualified personnel and expensive equipment. The integration of nano biosensors with the ozonation treatment, advanced oxidation methodology, will help to control and adjust this technique to reduce microcontaminant levels below the limits permitted by law, in addition to doing so more efficiently from the technical-economic point of view.

Main milestones achieved in 2018

This project has given rise to three new projects. Firstly, the SENSO3 system, which includes ozonation treatment combined with process control and a measurement system with application nano biosensors as a tertiary treatment in the wastewater sector. Secondly, a modular measurement system with sampling and nano biosensors with output for monitoring and control in processes in the biotechnology industry (pharmaceutical, agri-food and bioprocess sectors) and, finally, functionalized nano biosensor kits for specific microcontaminants used in quality analysis laboratories and tests.

The consortium has focused its efforts during the last year of the project on fine-tuning the products of the SENSO3 system and carrying out its validation.

The biosensor has a built-in optoelectronic detection and control system composed of a highly compact infra-red laser diode with fiber optic output, as well as state-of-the-art thermal micro bolometric detectors. Combined with HEATSENS® technology that associates gold nano prisms with antibodies to capture microcontaminants, the SENSO3 biosensor is a very sensitive and efficient tool for the detection of very low levels of contaminants such as pesticides. The biosensor is integrated with an automated water sampling and sample preparation system that communicates with the ozonation station and the SCADA of the WWTP for the sending of measurement and control data. This approach allows detailed monitoring of the process from the WWTP.

Inter-sectoral collaboration

The SENSO3 project, with a budget of 914,709 euros and a total duration of 34 months, is part of the ConectaPEME 2016 programme.

The project consortium is led by NANOIMMUNOTECH, the No. 1 European SME in the nanobiotechnology sector. A multidisciplinary approach is necessary to achieve the objectives of the project. For this reason, it has the collaboration of other SMEs that complete the value chain of the SENSO3 system such as TAYSUNAVE, which specializes in the manufacture of ozonation equipment for water treatment, SYSPRO, engaged in process engineering and automation and GESECO AGUAS, a WWTP management and operations company, as the end user and validator of the prototypes in a real environment.

This corporate grouping works in collaboration with the AIMEN Technological Centre.