Projects / Programmes
Closing material flows by wastewater treatment with green technologies
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 2.02.09 |
Engineering sciences and technologies |
Chemical engineering |
Ecological technology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| P305 |
Natural sciences and mathematics |
Environmental chemistry |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 2.04 |
Engineering and Technology |
Chemical engineering
|
closing material flows, nutrient cycling, water treatment, municipal wastewater, micropollutants, environmental and health risks, green technologies
Researchers (23)
Organisations (4)
Abstract
Growing urbanization, increasing resource consumption, climate change and the transition to a low carbon society require increasing flexibility of the urban environment, more sustainable water use and wastewater (WW) re-use. Nowadays water, energy, food and adequate infrastructures are advancing technologically, but they are functioning in a linear and disconnected way (extract-use-dispose). Re-use of resources (water, nutrients) by recycling WW results in “closing material flows”, which leads to the sustainable WW management. Resource recovery technologies or Green technologies (GreenT) enable recovery of nutrients from WW and reuse of treated water; however most of GreenT are still looking for improvements in their performance and economic feasibility. This calls for scientific evaluation of potential of GreenT and for development of an appropriate Decision Support System (DSS) based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
The core principle of the project is the performance evaluation of a closed material flow concept by three GreenT at two scales a) lab-scale, and b) pilot-scale at demo centre located at central WWTP Ajdovščina. The three tested GreenT are 1) algae based technology (ABT) with production of algae biomass and water for irrigation; 2) constructed wetland (CW) with production of water for irrigation, both in combination with advanced oxidation processes (AOP) for enhancement of biodegradability of micropollutants present in municipal WW; 3) evapotranspiration system (ETS) with zero outflow for wood biomass production. The algae biomass from ABT can be used for bio fertilisers, biofuels, biogas, feed, bioplastics, extraction of high value components; the wood biomass from ETS can be used for energy production and the media from ETS as fertilizer. The final products from GreenT including produced water enable closing the material flows of WW; however, the final products of GreenT may contain micropollutants like heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, industrial chemicals, pesticides etc. which may affect human health and environment. Because the conventional WWTPs are not designed for removing micropollutants and because of potential estrogenic, mutagenic and carcinogenic activity of these pollutants, their removal and fate in the GreenT in combination with AOP is of great interest. In the proposed project two selected groups of micropollutants will be monitored, namely bisphenol A (BPA) and its alternatives as emerging industrial chemicals and neonicotinoids as a new class of insecticides that have a great potency and systemic action for crop protection against sucking pests.
The final products of GreenT will be tested for agricultural use in pot and lysimeter experiments. In this way the valuable results will be obtained on how potentially hazard compounds and nutrients from municipal WW cycle and how environmental and health risk can be managed by water and nutrient reuse. For selected GreenT an extensive database to support decisions about their applications will be elaborated. Learning from three case studies while considering a LCA will provide a detailed insight to the locally recovered resources and evaluating them from small to bigger scale. The core of the project will be water and biomass quality, water and nutrient balance, and its optimisation as well as LCA as a base for DSS. It will allow the acquisition of new scientific knowledge because research related to the closing material flows demonstrated by different GreenT from small to bigger scale is new and rare. This is partly due to the awareness regarding limited phosphorus reserves and knowledge of efficient closed material flows in the context of ecosystem services is low and consequently the acceptance of resource oriented technologies.
Significance for science
Results of the project show a high level of scientific relevance since the project will try to answer the many open issues identified in the scientific background (point 11) and state-of-the-art review (point 12). Many EU calls, in particular H2020, reflect the need for R&D of green technologies or nature-based solutions as part of the green&blue infrastructure of the resilience cities of the future with the aim of re-use of water, nutrients and other products along with reduced energy consumption, reduced environmental foot-print and increased ecosystem services. However, capabilities and limitations of these approaches operating on closed-loop concept are not studied or studies are rare, individual and do not combine the technologic, economic and health aspects of end products use.
Project will contribute to designing of new development directions: nature-based solutions; urban agriculture; adaptive, resilience, green cities; no waste&zero emissions; phosphorus sources restoration, circular economy, water-food-energy nexus.
Project work will contribute to the development of the following fields:
1. Ecological engineering
· Introducing the concept of closing material flows into Slovenian and international research sphere (research results will enable H2020 applications)
· Development of new technologies of municipal wastewater treatment and its safe re-use
· Obtaining key findings on plant&algal biomass use in connection with municipal wastewater and its use in agriculture
· Development of new advanced technologies (AOP) or. a combination of AOP with green technologies for the removal of specific pollutants from municipal wastewater
2. Chemical analytics
· Development and optimisation of new analytical and measurement methods for determination of specific pollutants and monitoring of identification of key degradation parameters with possibility of feed-back control to assure optimal conditions and efficiency of the treatment system
3. Agronomy
· Development of new aspects of production and safe use of nutrients and their returning to the fields, safe food, re-use of water for irrigation
4. Biology
· Selection of plant&algae species for increasing of phytoremediation, phytoextraction, evapotranspiration and biomass as added values
5. Public health
· Development of new technologies and processes for water disinfection and specific pollutants removal from treated wastewater
· New aspects of closing material flows on impact on human health
6. Energetics
· Improving energy, material and economic efficiency in the production of wood biomass for heating
· Development of higher energy self-sufficiency and development of bioenergy and biofuels from wood&algae biomass
7. Circular economy
· Development of new possibilities for phosphorous recovery and reducing the risk of exploitation of its natural reserves
· Establishment of water-energy-energy nexus
Significance for the country
Project results will have direct impact on economy and on whole society (SRIP Smart cities, Circular economy, Food, Sustainable food production) in the field of municipal wastewater treatment (WW), drinking water supply, biological waste processing, energetics, agronomy at several levels:
Public companies for water supply and sewerage, bio-waste treatment
Agricultural sector
Energetic sector
People supplied
Wider society and nature (promotion of: National action plan for implementation of cradle to cradle principles (www.odzibkedozibke.si), material-efficient societies (www.c2cn.eu) and transition of Slovenia to a low carbon society, zero-waste concept (ebm.si/zw/o), Circular economy action plan (ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/index_en.htm), Environmental technologies action plan (ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap/about-action-plan/etap-previous-action-plan_en).
Project positive effects:
Efficient re-use of WW (e.g. use of treated municipal WW for irrigation and thus reduced use of water from other sources)
Efficient re-use of »waste« like plant&algal biomass for fertiliser production, fish feed, wood chips and pellets
Reduced negative impact of municipal WW on environment and water bodies
Reduced consumption of mineral fertilizers in agriculture (due to phosphorus and nitrogen recovery from municipal WW back to the fields)
Reduced use of fossil fuels due to their replacement with wood and algal biomass
Education and environmental awareness of wider society on green-blue infrastructure, green technologies, nature-based solutions, ecosystem services, closing material flows and concepts listed in point 5 of this chapter
Contribution towards changes from linear society to circular and processing society
Project is in accordance with national (OG 98/15) and EU legislation with strong focus on promotion of sustainable technologies and renewable energy (Directive 2001/77/EC), sustainable water use (WFD 2000/60/EC), waste separation and re-use (Waste Directive 2006/12/EC). The project is in accordance with Community strategic guidelines for rural development (2006/144/EC), Common agricultural policy (www.copa-cogeca.eu), which focuses on sustainable food production, climate change and low carbon society, and with European innovation partnership in water promoting innovations in water sector (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/innovationpartnership/).
Pilot systems studied can be as whole systems or single units further developed for marketing resulting in obtaining new competences in field of water management, plant&algal biomass use for production of fertilzers, fish feed, wood chips and pellets, establishment of new companies and new employments (green jobs) consequently reducing unemployment in Slovenia.
Most important scientific results
Interim report,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Interim report,
final report
