Area 3: Environmental Technologies ( incl. technologies related to water and soil)

TEG 3.1: Sustainable and cost-effective policies and technologies on water uses (production, consumption, recycling) for preventing and reducing environmental risks on water and soils, controlling pollution, and balancing demand and supply

CALL LINE 2
Development of multi-barrier membrane systems for a low-risk re-use of effluents to promote water savings in SMEs and decentralised schemes

Justification

Profound water shortage (in quantity and/or in quality) is a key characteristic for areas in Eastern European countries, especially the South-eastern region across the Balkans and in to Turkey. Southern Europe suffers from chronic water constraints and island states such as Malta and Cyprus are particularly affected. Other regions that neighbour Europe are similarly affected such as the Middle East, especially Israel and North Africa.
Large volumes of unutilised wastewater and lower quality drainwater exist in these regions, and if economical appropriate technologies can be developed, could be used to provide new freshwater resources to small sized professional or domestic water users. Such users need reliable and robust treatment technologies, as they can't handle re-use with sophisticated risk management approaches.

General objectives:

• To reduce water use as well as the pollution load from industries by developing and/or adopting preventive management tools
• To develop robust cost-effective treatment technologies for specific needs of industrial wastewater reuse and/or discharge

Specific objectives from the perspective of the New Member States

The shortage of water that characterises several countries (especially those in the Mediterranean) are becoming more severe, and more widespread globally, due to:

• Population growth
• Contamination of water resources by conventional pollutants
• Existence of organic micro-pollutants in most water resources and the increased public awareness about their effects.

Multi-barrier membrane systems for wastewater treatment as well as achieving water savings, have the potential to remove completely biological and chemical pollutants. They have the potential to become the technology of choice, even for countries considered to be rich in water resources. Water treated by multi-barrier membrane systems will produce higher quality potable water than traditional treatment systems on conventional water sources.

Background / state-of-the-art

The present use of multi-barrier membrane systems for wastewater treatment includes:

• Membrane desalination (using reverse osmosis) for sea water desalination
• Membrane separation of biomass in biological wastewater treatment (MBR) to improve process efficiency prior to disposal or reuse in agriculture only
• Tertiary membrane filtration (MF, UF) used as an alternative to the traditional deep-bed filtration for agricultural effluent reuse only

Use and knowledge of multi-barrier membrane systems is however very limited.

Ongoing and completed projects on issues raised

Although membrane systems have been well developed for separate uses such as desalination, wastewater treatment and tertiary treatment, little work has been carried out on multi-barrier systems, and this remains an investment opportunity.

Priorities of FP7 and WSSTP SRA addressed by objectives:

The call line 2 addresses 4 WSSTP SRA pilot priorities: 1. Mitigation of water stress in coastal areas, 2. Sustainable water management inside and around large urban areas, 3. Sustainable water management for agriculture, 4. Sustainable water management for industry, and the FP7 Theme Environment, Activity III – Environmental Technologies, priority 1 - Environmental technologies for the sustainable management and conservation of the natural and man-made environment.

Suggestion for most appropriate type of project

Collaborative research project

Specific research highlights:

• Fate of pathogens and organic micro-pollutants in the water cycle
• Identification of fouling causes and mechanisms
• Operational optimization
• Development of monitoring and early warning devices and quality guidelines
• Assessment of the total water cycle (demand-supply)
• Effect of N and P compounds and definition of their preliminary removal requirements
• Development of operational procedures for aquifer recharge in periods of low water demand
• Evaluation of psychological acceptance of using treated water by users

Existing expertise

• Chemical engineering
• Public health guidelines and standards
• Water quality monitoring
• Water treatment and supply technology

Required expertise

• Membrane technology

Gaps in knowledge

• Efficiency of multi-barrier membrane systems in pathogen removal
• Efficiency of multi-barrier membrane systems in the removal of organic micro-pollutants
• Tolerable standards for urban reuse of treated wastewater
• Monitoring and early warning standards and means
• Causes and mechanisms of fouling
• Efficiency of nitrogen compounds removal by membrane processes

Societal, economic and European relevance

Multi-barrier membrane systems would enable:

• Closing of the water cycle
• Reducing stress on natural over-exploited resources
• Reducing overall costs of water production and treatment
• Reducing foot print of treatment facilities
• Optimal management of resources
• Reducing the dependence on rainfall pattern – important for supply reliability