Informations et ressources scientifiques
sur le développement des zones arides et semi-arides

Titre : Small-scale cleaning of water : Solar-assisted bifunctional photocatalysts for field-use

Pays/Région : Kenya

Date : 1 January 2017–31 December 2019

Identifiant : 2016-05904_VR

Présentation
We plan research on sustainable water cleaning methods amenable for implementation on small scales for potable water. To this end we will use crushed seeds from the endogenic Moringa tree as a flocculating agent to clear water from pollutant particles, and solar assisted photocatalysis for chemical detoxification.

The main objective is to make new bifunctional copper-zinc oxide photocatalysts with simple and sustainable methods that can degrade biorecalcitrant pollutants, e.g. dyes, pharmaceutics and consumer chemicals. The scientific rationale is based on synthesis of nanoscale pn-junctions to perform simultaneous oxidation and reduction reactions, employing a large fraction of solar light. A novelty of our approach is to adapt advanced scientific methods to simple conditions and make use of abundant materials. To facilitate transfer of project results we will build the project on existing collaborations with Kenya, primarily Uni Eldoret, where we deployed previous water cleaning technologies and helped to build up a network and laboratory resources. The overall goal is to improve on methods to purify water sustainable technologies, and to promote African research in this field. The project is divided into five different work packages distributed over 4 years, and involves PhD students, undergraduate students and researches in Uppsala and Kenya. This is complemented by workshops and dissemination activities to promote the uptake of the technology developed in the project.

Coordination : Uppsala University

Financement : Swedish Research Council
Budget : 3,600,000 kr

Swecris project database