Technological projects portfolio

OXYFILMS

An ecofriendly process to purify water

Investment: €715k

Scope: Chemistry and Materials

Scientific field(s): Ecotechnology and Energy

Institution(s): CNRS - CEA

Transfer to industrial partner in progress/completed

#EffluentTreatment #OrganicPollutantDegradation #GreenChemistry

USE CASES

In France and around the world, chemical pollution is one of the main sources of pollution in surface and groundwater, originating from industrial, agricultural or domestic activities. The current organic substance depollution technologies, such as activated carbon, micro-organisms, or ozonation, do not eliminate or degrade all pollutants. The limits of these processes are becoming clear in the face of many chemical substances such as persistent organic pollutants.

ADVANTAGES

Oxyfilms consist of controlled electrodeposition in the form of nanostructured films of a common metal oxide, equivalent to a natural mineral, on a variety of substrates. These films spontaneously degrade organic pollutants into small molecules, or even allow total degradation (mineralization), and do so with a low energy cost.

Degradation is accelerated and amplified by a low current, which also enables the films to be completely regenerated, thus avoiding degradation and/or reduced reactivity. With this technique, a significant portion of today’s organic pollutants could be eliminated and make our waters and environment safer.

APPLICATIONS

Initially, Oxyfilms technology will be used for the treatment of industrial effluents with the advantage of reducing the operational costs of treating organic pollutants. The technology has the potential to reduce the use of activated carbon or simplify treatment processes.

In a second phase, the technology could be extended to markets that are more difficult to access from a regulatory point of view, such as drinking water.