NWO LIFT grant for Remco Hartkamp and Burak Eral

NWO has awarded researchers Remco Hartkamp and Burak Eral from the Department of Process & Energy a LIFT (Launchpad for Innovative Technology) grant for their research on selectively extracting ionic contaminants from water with the aid of porous electrodes via a process called capacitive deionization. The aim of the research is to develop a solution for selectively removing ionic contaminants in water.

Extracting ionic contaminants from water is a critical step in the chemical and food industries. Extraction usually involves the use of ion-exchange materials, which can be tweaked to create a specific affinity for ions such as calcium, nitrate, or heavy metals. This method uses concentrated salts and acids to regularly regenerate the ion exchangers to restore their absorption capacity. As a result, the use of ion exchangers often produces significant amounts of waste. In this project, Hartkamp and Eral developed a method that makes it possible to selectively extract ions from industrial streams. The method is based on capacitive deionization, in which electricity is used to transport ions through a porous electrode that separates the waste streams from the product. Using this method to selectively extract ions is challenging. Moreover, another challenge in the research is to ensure that this process runs continuously and efficiently.

The research is being carried out in collaboration with Avsalt AB, a Swedish company run by CEO Niels Boon that specialises in water purification. Avsalt AB can use the insights acquired in this research to further develop their patented solution for capacitive desalination.

LIFT (Launchpad for Innovative Technology) is an NWO funding instrument intended for a public-private partnership consisting of at least one company and one knowledge institute. Industry funds 20% of the LIFT projects, while NWO funds the remaining 80%. Fourteen LIFT projects will be launched this year. The projects are awarded in the context of the Science PPP Fund in the following top sectors: Chemistry, Agri& Food, Energy and ICT. In total, approximately 4 million euros is available for these partnerships between research and industry.

Read more about all of the grants: Fourteen grants awarded for public-private LIFT proposals