PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The treatment of wastewater is a key element of environment conservation activities in Europe and, therefore, an important item on the European policy agenda. Several directives deal directly or indirectly with this issue. Directive 2000/60/EC establishes a new legislative approach that sets very ambitious objectives for the quality and protection of water, including the achievement of good environmental status by 2015.
Council Directive 91/271/EEC on urban wastewater treatment aims to protect the environment from the adverse effects of urban wastewater discharges. The directive also asserts that treated wastewater is reused “whenever appropriate”. The treatment of industrial wastewater, including effluent from the agro-industrial sector, presents a particular problem, however, because of high toxicity levels, which can compromise the functioning of common urban wastewater treatment plants.
In spite of the existence of this legislative context, most European countries still don’t adequately treat and manage urban and industrial wastewater, and many are far from achieving the quality targets that have been established.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of the WW-SIP project is to redefine the urban wastewater treatment plant (UWWTP) by transforming it into an integrated platform for sustainable and profitable sewage refinement. The project will create an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable wastewater refinement platform (WW-SIP) by integrating innovative technologies into the infrastructures and processes of a typical UWWTP. This goal will be pursued through the following objectives:
- To improve the technical performance and sustainability of the technologies identified as suitable for integration into the UWWTP, with the aim of developing a prototype of a self-sustainable platform for wastewater refinement. The prototype will be made up of the following units: - An electro-chemical pre-treatment of agro-industrial wastewater in order to remove toxic substances and make the effluent suitable for biological treatment, in accordance with Directive 91/271/EEC, and the extraction of bio-based products such as high-quality sludge for compost; - A combined heat and power (CHP) unit for biogas conversion, comprising a biodesulpurisation process in order to remove hydrogen sulphide from biogas before its combustion in the engine; - A micro algae photo bioreactor, using carbon dioxide from the engine combustion for algal biomass production, suitable as a substrate for the biogas plant or as a renewable source for biofuel production;
- To assess the environmental and economic sustainability of the entire value chain and inputs/outputs of the integrated process, through a Lifecycle Assessment and a cost-benefit analysis;
- To exchange knowledge and skills among the participants; and
- To disseminate results to the water and wastewater sector, scientific community, public, producers and potential end-users.
Expected results:
- The integration of innovative wastewater treatment and reuse technologies (Electro-chemical technology, CHP and microalgae photobioreactor technology) into the UWWTP;
- A fully functional WW-SIP prototype;
- The demonstration of the environmental and economic sustainability of the WW-SIP; and
- Dissemination of project results at national and international level.
