University of Helsinki
Do you know that you might be taking in medicines every day without you knowing it? It is possible when the water you drink is contaminated with pharmaceutical pollutants. These are residual drug molecules, which stay in water because conventional wastewater treatment methods cannot completely remove them. Pharmaceutical pollutants affect water resources, including drinking water in various parts of the world, and may pose health hazards to humans. The good news, though, is that the recently awarded postdoc grant to Melissa Agustin by the Academy of Finland (AoF) offers a potential solution to this global problem on pharmaceutical pollution. The project entitled: “Pickering emulsion-based synthesis of lignocellulose aerogels as adsorbents for pharmaceutical pollutants (PickPollutants)” will develop bio-based materials capable of removing residual drug molecules from water. This multidisciplinary project will employ the expertise in emulsion and aerogel research of the FoMSci group, with support from local and international collaborators: Aalto University, University of Eastern Finland, Finnish Environmental Institute, and Hamburg Institute of Technology.
The PickPollutants project is among the 15% successful applications in natural sciences and engineering to be granted a three-year funding by the AoF in 2020. Yearly, the AoF grants funding to high-quality scientific research in various fields with the aim of contributing to the renewal, diversification and increase internalization of Finnish research.
Kudos to Melissa´s new project! This shows that here in FoMSci, we care not only about the foods you eat, but also about the water you drink!