Partners

Project Coordinator

The technology Centre of Biodiversity, Ecology and Technology, and Environmental and Food Management (BETA) at the Fundació Universitària Balmes (FUB) aims to improve competitiveness and technological development in companies through R&D projects at a local, state or European level transferring innovative and competitive technology with environmental sustainable criteria.

A team of over 20 researchers (postdoctoral researchers, PhD students and laboratory technicians) make up our multidisciplinary team in the areas of environmental engineering, chemistry, biology, biotechnology, food science and renewable energies.

One of our main research lines is Aquatic Ecology, which aims at understanding how aquatic ecosystems respond to different stressors by using a combination of field studies and laboratory experiments and a wide variety of endpoints.

Another pillar of our research centre is environmental technology. In this field, we have a great experience in the evaluation of the environmental and economic impact, and we will be responsible for the monitoring of the LIFE DEMINE project impact.

Finally, our team of researchers have a deep expertise in several European projects, which give them the necessary knowledge to be in charge of the overall project management of the DEMINE project.

For more information: www.betatechcenter.com

Swansea University is a research-led university founded in 1920 that set in mature parkland and botanical garden, overlooking Swansea Beach in south-west Wales, UK. The University community thrives on exploration and discovery, and offers the right balance of excellent teaching and research, matched by an enviable quality of life. But, membrane application and research began in Swansea University some 30 years ago and continues to produce high impact results across a range of industrial sectors including process engineering, water and waste water treatment, health and wellbeing and automotive.

The researchers in Swansea are recognised internationally as experts in the field and the group has published countless papers on the subject and have produced leading textbooks in the field.

Our work has focussed on novel applications of membranes and this has been supported via continued collaboration with several industrial organizations.

Another point of our work is that it has led to economic impact via capital investment and job creation related to the development of novel membranes and membrane processes for antifouling properties, improved whey processing and therapeutics manufacture, along with the obvious water treatment processes.

Professor Darren Oatley-Radcliffe who will lead this project from Swansea is a chemical and bioprocess engineer and is the Deputy Director of the Centre of Water Advanced Technologies and Environmental Research (CWATER) at Swansea University. He is highly experienced in the design, development and scale-up of membrane processes and has extensive industrial experience gained in the pharmaceutical industries.

For more information: http://www.swansea.ac.uk

The Dresdner Grundwasserforschungszentrum (Dresden Groundwater Research Centre- DGRC) was founded in 1990 as a non-profit membership organization and currently has about 50 personal and 10 institutional members. According to tis statute, it runs its research field regarding:

Concept development for soil and groundwater management and soul and groundwater protection.
Development of strategies and procedures for the in situ rehabilitation of contaminated soils and groundwater conductors as well as
The implementation and promotion of further training events and meetings.

Young scientist work in long-term R&D projects in their PhD and since 1995, more than 25 doctoral students at various universities of DGRC have defended their dissertations with very high success rates.

From the beginning of the DGRC the research fields are related to all questions of reconstructions of post mine water balance, treatment of water quality and water management in the brown coal landscapes of Lusitia and Middle Germany in Germany. Furthermore, management of salt residue dump water in north Thuringia relating to the European Water Framework Directive (EU-WFD) is a research field of DGRC for last ten years.

For more information: http://www.gwz-dresden.de/dgfz-ev/

Elentec designs and develops electrochemical systems for effluent treatment and has tested the technology over a wide range of applications, mimicking the scope for chemical coagulation. Alongside removal, the recovery of contaminants from effluent streams is a continued interest for the company with heavy metals and nutrients at the centre of the focus.

The experience of Elentec with acid mine drainage dates back to 2009 when research on a well-know site in the Parys Mountain, UK, was carried out to compare the performance of chemical and electrochemical coagulation for site remediation.

Elentec have been working in the field of electrochemical water treatment and particularly electrocoagulation for approximately 15 years. In that time, they have:

Conducted trials in Sweden to remove arsenic from old iron mine tailings.
Conducted trials to remove phosphate from car manufacturing plant paint waste
Conducted trials to remove metal waste from plating shop waste streams
Conducted trials to remove phosphate from treated sewage.

For more information: http://www.elentec.co.uk

The government of the Principality of Asturias (PRAS) is a Regional authority that by means of the Ministry of Public Works, Territorial Planning and the Environment, participates as a government partner involved in the project. This Ministry is the regional authority responsible for waste and contaminated soil management.

Asturias has a complex lithology that generated numerous minerals exploitation from the Neolithic. This historical exploitation, as well as the more recent dismantling of the heavy industry has led to existence of degraded areas. Since 1999, PRAS has been identified potentially contaminated soils and undertaken cleaning and recovering actions. Also, it has participated in the Life I-DARTS and is often involved in research and demonstrative projects.

PRAS will be an important actor supporting Life-DEMINE in legal aspects at regional and national level as well as documenting all necessary existing information for the project.

Besides, PRAS will characterise mine wastewater at different sites and collaborate in all the activities related with the communication and dissemination or the results of the project and will provide mapping and other general information as well as personnel and facilities to monitor project implementation.