The µNanoCare project will address the quantification of micronanoplastics in reclaimed water and agricultural ecosystems and will assess the associated environmental risk. The project is funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation in the call “Retos Colaboración 2019” and will run until the end of 2023. The consortium that forms µNanoCare is made up of three entities: IMDEA Agua as a research center and IPROMA (coordinator) and FACSA as leading companies in their sectors.
The Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Presidency of the Spanish National Research Agency have definitively resolved the funding to carry out the R+D+i Projects “Retos-Colaboración” of the National Program for Research, Development and Innovation Oriented to Challenges of the Society, within the framework of the National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2017-2020. The μNanoCare project (Quantification of micronanoplastics in reclaimed water and agricultural ecosystems. Environmental risk assessment-RTC2019-007261-5) has been selected and funded in this call with € 742,809.40 and will be carried out during 3 and a half years (1/7/2020-31/12/2023).
The general objective of the μNanoCare project is to develop a method capable of quantifying the presence of MNPs in environmental samples and reducing both the emission and the uncertainty associated with their fate and environmental risk based on:
- an effective and innovative sampling and analysis methodology
- eco-efficient wastewater treatments
- assessment of exposure and associated ecotoxicological risks
To do this, the μNanoCare consortium has a multidisciplinary team capable of addressing the problem from these three pillars. The project is coordinated by IPROMA, a company with extensive experience in the development of analytical methods and extensive scientific participation in the analysis of micro-nanoplastics; and has the participation of FACSA, a company specializing in wastewater treatment technologies, and the IMDEA Agua Institute, an international benchmark research center in the development of membrane technologies and the evaluation of environmental contamination and risks.