Sorigué inaugurates a pilot plant to recover resources from wastewater
Sorigué participates in the main road maintenance forums
Sorigué is researching a new material for CO₂ capture
March 14, 2023
The new equipment is located at the WWTP in La Llagosta, Barcelona, and is part of the European Water Mining project.
The aim of this facility is to find viable, full-scale, innovative solutions to recover resources and produce high quality water for reuse.
The pilot plant, installed at the wastewater treatment plant of La Llagosta, Barcelona, is one of the case studies at Water Mining, a European project that promotes innovation in the management of water resources on a large scale.
Sorigué’s participation is based on the joint work and synergies between the business group’s innovation department and water engineering business line.
Four technologies to turn pollutants into resources
Organic matter and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater are the main pollutants to be removed, as they cause the eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems.
For this reason, the pilot plant has an anaerobic membrane reactor for the first stage. This technology makes it possible to convert organic matter into biogas, a source of energy that could be used to power the plant itself.
The next stage of the process consists of a nitrogen removal system based on anammox bacteria. The biological process that occurs in the oceans is recreated when using these organisms, resulting in a treatment that consumes less energy than conventional nitrogen removal methods.
The pilot plant, installed at the wastewater treatment plant of La Llagosta, Barcelona, is one of the case studies at Water Mining, a European project that promotes innovation in the management of water resources on a large scale.
Sorigué’s participation is based on the joint work and synergies between the business group’s innovation department and water engineering business line.
Four technologies to turn pollutants into resources
Organic matter and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater are the main pollutants to be removed, as they cause the eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems.
For this reason, the pilot plant has an anaerobic membrane reactor for the first stage. This technology makes it possible to convert organic matter into biogas, a source of energy that could be used to power the plant itself.
The next stage of the process consists of a nitrogen removal system based on anammox bacteria. The biological process that occurs in the oceans is recreated when using these organisms, resulting in a treatment that consumes less energy than conventional nitrogen removal methods.
Other technologies being validated are the ViviCryst and BioPhree systems, two technologies developed by Wetsus, the Dutch Water Technology Centre of Excellence. This solution recovers phosphorus from wastewater in the form of vivianite crystals, a phosphorus salt that can be used as a fertiliser in agriculture.
The pilot plant also has a module of recycled reverse osmosis membranes that allows the recovery of high quality water for industrial uses. This last step is essential to ensuring the efficient use of water resources.
Collaboration and innovation
Entities and research centres with expertise in the water sector have been involved in the design of the plant.
The set of technologies to be tested was designed during discussions with the different social actors in order to study the possible implementation of this system in a real environment.
The pilot plant, designed as part of the Water Mining project, will be operational until mid-2024.
This project is one of the most ambitious initiatives in the transformation of water treatment systems towards a circular economy model. It consists of 38 public and private partners from 12 countries, and gives demonstrations in 4 locations: Spain, Cyprus, Portugal and Italy.
Water Mining is funded by the European Commission HORIZON2020 project under the call SC5-04-2019 Building a water-smart economy and society.
The pilot plant also has a module of recycled reverse osmosis membranes that allows the recovery of high quality water for industrial uses. This last step is essential to ensuring the efficient use of water resources.
Collaboration and innovation
Entities and research centres with expertise in the water sector have been involved in the design of the plant.
The set of technologies to be tested was designed during discussions with the different social actors in order to study the possible implementation of this system in a real environment.
The pilot plant, designed as part of the Water Mining project, will be operational until mid-2024.
This project is one of the most ambitious initiatives in the transformation of water treatment systems towards a circular economy model. It consists of 38 public and private partners from 12 countries, and gives demonstrations in 4 locations: Spain, Cyprus, Portugal and Italy.
Water Mining is funded by the European Commission HORIZON2020 project under the call SC5-04-2019 Building a water-smart economy and society.
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