Materials UP-cycling TO fabricate advanced MEMbrane technologies for water and food industries: towards zero waste and a circular economy

ongoing

UP2MEM will train 15 doctoral students to face the complex challenge of predicting the impact of pollutants on the environment and water reuse as well as the recovery of valuable products in food. Therefore, the Circular Economy is used to manufacture novel filtration systems, using green approaches through four main missions: research, training, management and innovation. This objective will be achieved through a structured research training programme, which will consist of original individual research projects and education in technical and transferable skills. Experts from 11 doctoral degree-granting universities, 1 national research center and 13 companies will join forces to facilitate the successful training program that will allow doctoral students to receive an Industrial Doctorate with at least two different supervisors, one supervisor on the academy side and another on the industry side. Each research project addresses a specific topic tailored to a PhD student and will be fully integrated into a coherent research program delivered through scientific and technical Work Packages as part of an overall action plan dedicated to studying the manufacturing of membranes and filtration systems efficiently for the reuse and treatment of water and the recovery of valuable products in food. The high degree of interdisciplinarity and intersectorality of the consortium will ensure that the issue is addressed in 360 degrees and the synergy between the partners will allow addressing the fundamental ecological, biological, chemical, technological and health aspects related to the temporal evolution, management and protection of water, and food, in consideration of current and future scenarios related to climate change. Synergies and complementarities between doctoral students' projects will grow within the association, reinforced by multiple research stays and degrees with an industrial connotation, and by debates on progress and achievements during network meetings.