SMARTWASTE

Advanced waste recycling through experimental models dedicated to the circular economy- SMARTWASTE

Team Leader: Dr. Ing. Mirela Alina CONSTANTIN

Short description: Through its objectives, the project responds to the Action Plan on the Circular Economy, i.e. the Commission Communication to the European Parliament, by helping to achieve waste reduction targets for certain waste streams as part of a wider set of waste prevention measures in the context of Directive 2008/98/EC. The project will also encourage the exchange of information and best practice on waste recycling. All these measures also serve the objective of significantly reducing the total amount of waste generated and halving the amount of municipal (non-recycled) waste by 2030. The present project aims to develop experimental models that will be optimised and validated at laboratory level, starting from TRL2 to TRL4. They will aim at valorising waste by transforming it into secondary raw materials using laboratory technologies for the production of smart biofertilisers, for obtaining nanomaterials as catalysts and/or materials with adsorbent properties from different types of ash with applications in wastewater treatment and for obtaining new alternative fuels for sustainable development and energy generation.

Phase 1/2023:

  • Research study on the establishment of criteria for the use of leather industry waste as raw material in the process of obtaining smart fertilizers with controlled nutrient release
  • Research study on determining the requirements for the use of combustion plant waste (ash) as raw material
  • Research study on the use of municipal waste in the production of alternative fuels

Phase 2/2023:

  • Study on the physicochemical characterization of leather industry waste in the process of obtaining smart fertilizers with controlled nutrient release;
  • Study on the determination of the requirements for the use of ash in the synthesis of nanomaterials;
  • Study on the physico-chemical and energetic characterization of municipal waste

Phase 3/2024

  • Research report (Experimental study) on the removal of specific compounds found in the composition of waste from the leather industry – part I
  • Research report (Experimental study) on the development and testing of adsorbent materials and/or catalysts obtained from ash
  • Research report (Experimental study) on the development of recipes for obtaining alternative fuels from waste using different proportions in mixtures

Phase 3/II/2024

  • Research report (Experimental study) on the removal of specific compounds found in the composition of waste from the leather industry – part II experimental model for wastewater treatment from decentralized or seasonal sources – part II

Phase 4/2024

  • Research report – Experimental study on the development and testing of the experimental model for wastewater treatment
  • Research report – Experimental study on selection and testing of alternative fuel formulas – part I

Phase 4/II/2024

  • Research Report – Experimental Study on the Selection and Testing of Alternative Fuel Formulas – Part II

I. ISI-BDI Articles / Patents / Books

  1. M.A. Constantin, L.A. Constantin, I.A. Ionescu, C.M. Nicolescu, M. Bumbac, O. Tiron, Performance of a solar-driven photocatalytic membrane reactor for municipal wastewater treatment, Processes, 12 (3), article no. 617, 2024, FI 2.8, AIS = 0.431, Q2
  2. A.M.N Codreanu (Manea), D.S.Stefan , L. Kim, M. Stefan, Depollution of Polymeric Leather Waste by Applying the Most Current Methods of Chromium Extraction- Review, Polymers 2024, 16, 1546, FI 4.7, AIS 0.657, Q1, https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16111546

 

II. Scientific Events

  1. Adriana Cuciureanu, Bogdan Adrian Stanescu, Georgiana Cernica, Florenta Daniela Constantinov, Valorization of residual fractions from municipal wastes in the form of alternative fuels, 27th International Symposium Environment and Industry, 19-20.09.2024, Mamaia, Romania – poster

 

III. Other promotional activities or knowledge base for research projects

  1. Project won Program HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-TALENTS-03-01; Call: HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-TALENTS-03; Type of Action: HORIZON-CSA; Proposal ID: 101217448; Acronym: Talent Pass; Fostering European talents for widening circular economy
  2. project proposal PN-IV-P7-7.1-PED-2024-1984: New technologies for the preparation of smart organic catalysts, of the core-shell type, from waste, with applications in advanced wastewater treatment
  3. project proposal PN-IV-P7-7.1-PED-2024-2042: Electromagnetically activated nanocomposite membranes for the separation of pollutants from wastewater