After more than two years the meeting of all the project partners of the PEPcat project was held in person on the 18th of Ocotober 2022. Herefore, all partners met at the plant constructor SIMA-tec (Schwalmtal/Germany) who was assigned the task of constructing the semi-technical plant. This will be used to investigate the deleveloped process for the oxidative elimination of trace substances, such as drug residues, on a pilot scale. Upon completion the plant will be built into a container and transported to the wastewater treatment plant Aachen-Soers. There the procedure will be tested and further developed under real conditions by connection to the outlet of secondary sedimentation.

After the visit to SIMA-tec, the partners drove to Aachen (GER) to discuss the status of the project modules and aims in the premises of ISA. In the course of this, the photocatalyst developed by AMO GmbH was handed over to equip the reactors for the semi-technical plant. The catalyst material was optimised in such  a way, that activation of the catalytic processes is possible by irradiation with light in the visible range. Therefore, the usage of artificial UV-lamps is redundant and solar energy can be used instead which lowers the energy usage of the process massively.

Furthermore, the further proceedings of the partners and the future of the project was discussed. The project participants thank SIMA-tec for the interesting tour and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research for the funding as part of “CLIENT II- International Partnerships for Sustainable Innovation”.