SENSOR
Project SENSOR: Sensor platform for on-line monitoring. SENSOR investigates new technologies for the development of a new and innovative sensor platform for online monitoring with a special focus on micropollutants such as EDCs and PFASs. The ambition is to establish a robust, stable and reliable sensing methodology with high sensitivity and selectivity, independent of environmental factors, which can offer an economical viable solution for numerous industrial applications.
The importance of online monitoring
Industry generates hazardous and toxic flows of wastewater that are not easy to process. Until today, most of these wastewaters go on transport for incineration, which is 100% destructive and has a negative CO2 impact. Detection and measurement of these toxic components is of great importance. However, real-time detection of low concentration substances remains highly challenging in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Sector-related challenges for online monitoring are associated with mixed flow compositions, continuous variations in composition, and challenging environmental conditions (solvents, extreme pH’s, temperatures or pressures). Because of these challenges, a one-fits-all solution does not exist and sensing trade-offs are systematically being made.
A robust, stable and reliable sensing methodology
The main challenge is to develop a technology for quick and simple on-site quantification. The existing methods still suffer from lack of sensitivity and selectivity. SENSOR identified molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and microfluidics as two key enabling technologies. To realize high-throughput reliable sensing of the target molecules, multiple MIP-containing recognition elements on a single lab-on-a-chip for parallel sensing is highly desired but also highly challenging. To the best of our knowledge, such a chip is highly innovative and has not been realized for EDCs and PFASs as target molecules.
A new and innovative sensor platform
The project will generate a MIP-based sensing methodology that translates into industrial relevant proof of principles (on properties such as detection limit, selectivity and scalability) for detection of various micropollutants, such as EDCs and PFASs. SENSOR delivers a stable and reliable lab-on-a-chip sensing devices that has been validated in realistic environmental conditions.
Project Partners
The SENSOR consortium consists of three well-established industrial partners (Voxdale, B4Plastics and InOpSys) and two academic partners (UHasselt IMO-IMOMEC and VUB). The partners have complementary know-how and skills to create a new value chain with sustainable solutions for malodor elimination.