Castellón, February 17, 2017 – FACSA, [Company Name], the Spanish private company with the most experience in integrated water cycle management, continues to invest in innovation and applied research in wastewater treatment. The firm, in collaboration with [Partner Name], [Company Name], [and/or/etc. ... [Company Name], [and/or/etc.], [Company Name], [and/or/etc.], [Company Name], [and/or/etc.], [Company Name], [and//etc.], [Company Name], [and//etc.], [Company Name], [and//etc.], [Company Name], [and//etc.], [Company Name], [and//etc.], [Company Name], [and//etc. Institute of Ceramic Technology (ITC) The Universitat Jaume I of Castellón and the ceramic company Natucer from Onda, along with entities and organizations from seven EU countries, have developed a novel membrane bioreactor (MBR). This device is equipped with low-cost ceramic membranes, made from recycled materials, which allows, after filtration, the reuse of water in treatment plants, both urban and industrial.
The initiative is part of the European REMEB project, a project funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (GA 641998) which, with a budget of 2.3 million euros, started in September 2015 and will end in August 2018.
The project REMEB This has allowed the development of a ceramic, ecological and competitive MBR, made from raw materials, ceramic by-products and agro-industrial waste, which can be used in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants.
“We saw that there was a market niche and we decided to create ceramic membranes to replace the polymers that are currently being used, since they have less durability and resistance compared to this new product,” explained Juan Antonio Llopis, head of the Sanitation and Purification area at FACSA.
In fact, these new membranes are more economical than polymeric ones, which will mean significant cost savings for wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Among other advantages, Elena Zuriaga, R&D&I technician at FACSA and project coordinator, also highlighted that “They exhibit better chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties, allowing the membranes to work under severe conditions and more aggressive cleaning procedures to be applied.”. Furthermore, Enrique Sánchez, professor of Chemical Engineering and researcher at ITC, certified that "the water obtained through this system is of excellent quality.".
For his part, Natucer's technical director, Javier Rubert, acknowledged that the project has been "a challenge" for the firm, which has had to adapt its production process. Rubert also highlighted that although these ceramic membranes will initially be developed in Spain, at the company's own facilities, "it is a project that can be exported worldwide and applied to treat both urban and industrial wastewater.".
Although the manufacturing of these membranes is currently centralized at Natucer's facilities in Spain, the project will be replicated on a pilot scale in other countries, such as Turkey and Italy. The REMNEB MBR will be validated at the Aledo Wastewater Treatment Plant (Murcia) in order to reuse the treated water for irrigation in a water-scarce area.
In addition to FACSA, The entities and organizations that make up the REMEB project consortium are ITC-UJI (Spain), IPROMA (Spain), ESAMUR (Spain), the Council of Chambers of the Valencian Community (Spain), the Ceramic Center (Italy), Imeca Process (France), Biowater Technology (Norway), Atlantis Consulting (Cyprus), Seramik Arastirma Merkezi AS (Turkey) and the Antonio Nariño University (Colombia).
