PROMISCES will identify how industrial pollution prevents the deployment of the circular economy in the EU and which strategies help overcome key bottlenecks to deliver the ambitions of the European Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan.
PROMISCES considers specific Circular Economy routes including;
(i) semi-closed water cycles for drinking water supply at urban and catchment scale;
(ii) wastewater reuse for irrigation in agriculture;
(iii) nutrient recovery from sewage sludge;
(iv) material recovery from dredged sediment and
(v) land remediation for safe reuse in urban areas.
To reach its goals, PROMISCES will develop new analytical methods and toxicological tools to provide data on persistent, mobile Particulate Matter (PM) substances (i.e. PFAS and other industrial chemicals) in complex environmental matrices. In doing so, they will explore sources and environmental pathways of PM substances released from
(i) soil;
(ii) sediment;
(iii) landfills;
(iv) wastewater treatment plants and via urban runoff into relevant environmental compartments (soil, sediment, surface water, groundwater).
PROMISCES will assess fate and transport pathways (how contaminants move through and are transformed in, the environment) within the different circular economy routes and evaluate the impacts of corrective measures. This will help improve the assessment and management of human health risks from drinking water and agricultural products. The team will develop and demonstrate cost-efficient and sustainable technologies for the removal of PM substances from different media, and then translate PROMISCES results into guidance for efficient and feasible management of PM substances as well as recommendations for the implementation of relevant EU policy strategies and directives. Lastly, they will integrate the results into a decision support framework which considers resource recovery and water reuse and supports chemical management decisions with regards to
i) stakeholders and societal demands;
ii) PM chemical properties
iii) technical solutions to prevent, mitigate and remediate industrial pollution and
iv) the whole life cycle of current and future chemicals.
Read their policy brief titled "Policy brief on PM(T) concerns and actions in EU"
