A. CURRENT PROJECTSat CUT The majority of group’s research activities focus on monitoring, analysis, and treatment of cyanobacterial contaminated water and the toxic metabolites they release (cyanotoxins). Current group activities related to cyano-HABs include:
Monitoring of surface water for cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins (in collaboration with WDD and CYANOCOST).
In-lake treatment of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins (in collaboration with the IBED group of the University of Amsterdam).
Resistance development against chemical oxidation treatment of the harmful cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa strain PCC 7806 (in collaboration with the IBED group of the University of Amsterdam).
Enhancement of the photocatalytic degradation of cyanotoxins with the addition of sulfate-radical generating oxidants (in collaboration with the CyanoSol group of Robert Gordon University).
Monitoring the effects of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins on hydroponically grown cultures (in collaboration with the Hydro-Aromatic Plants group of CUT).
Remote monitoring of cyanobacterial contaminated water (in collaboration with CyRIC).
Production of high value biofertilizers (struvite) from livestock waste (RE-LIVE WASTE).
B. PAST PROJECTS at CUT
Construction of a collimated beam reactor for the removal of xenobiotics. Undergraduate thesis: Dimitris Dimitriou.
Degradation Paracetamol with sulfate radical generating oxidants in a collimated beam reactor. Undergraduate thesis: Constantina Kyriakou.
Removal of phenanthrene from soil with the sulfate radical generating oxidants PS and PMS. Master Thesis: Elena Nikolaou in collaboration with Dr. Kostas Andreou (CUT).
Activation of PMS with iron sources (Fe+2, Fe+3, ZVI) for the removal of emerging contaminants. Undergraduate thesis: Nikoletta Tsiarta in collaboration with Prof. Aurora Lopez and Dr. Sergio Rodriguez-Vega with the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, España.
C. FUNDED PROJECTS C1. At the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT)
Start-up package from CUT (40,000€). Starting July 2013-December 2015.
RESTART 2016-2020- BILATERAL/FRANCE/1116 (4/12/2017-3/12/2019) CYANOS (5,000€). Title: Monitoring and Treatment of cyanobacterial contaminated surface waters. In collaboration with the ECOBIO "Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Evolution" Institute of the University of Rennes 1 (leader Prof. Luc Brient ). https://cyanoscyfr.weebly.com/
Improving innovation capacities of private and public actors for sustainable and profitable REcycling of LIVEstock WASTE (RE-LIVE WASTE), Interreg MED, Overall budget: 1,831,687 €, CUT budget 365,425 €. Duration: 02/2018-07/2020. (https://re-livewaste.interreg-med.eu/). http://ktisis.cut.ac.cy/cris/project/pj00314 ktisis.cut.ac.cy/cris/project/pj00314
Automated In-situ CYANOtoxin Assessment ToolBOX for Real-Time Surface Water Monitoring (CYanoBox), Restart Enterprises, RPF Cyprus, Lead Partner: CyRIC. Overall budget: 64,884 €, CUT budget 199,760 €. Duration: 03/2019-02/2021.
C2. At the Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Due to the confidentiality agreement signed with Siemens Water Technology, the title of the project is withheld.
“Mistrapharma Project” sponsored by the Swedish research foundation, the Mistra foundation.
C3. At the University of Cincinnati
“Monitoring, Photochemical Fate, and Oxidative Degradation by UV and Solar-based Catalytic Technologies of Cyanotoxins in Freshwater Estuaries” supported by US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USA (September 2006 – December 2009).
“Hydroxyl Radical and Sulfate Radical-Based Advanced Oxidation Nanotechnologies for the Destruction of Biological Toxins in Water” supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Award, USA (July 2005 – December 2009).
“High Performance TiO2 Photocatalytic Coatings and Membranes for the Purification, Disinfection and Recycle of Water and Air in Space Applications” supported by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA (September 2003 – November 2006).