Wastewater can be used to produce hydrogen through photocatalysis. In this context, the HACDOS project has emerged, proposing to explore hydrogen production from wastewater using only solar radiation as the driving force in a photocatalytic reactor. Similar to the gasification of municipal waste or biomass, this is essentially a true circular waste valorization process, but one that takes place under mild environmental conditions. Alongside hydrogen production, it will also allow for water decontamination by reducing the organic matter content.
Currently, the technology has been validated at laboratory scale and the first prototypes of the photocatalytic reactor are being built, which will be validated at a semi-industrial scale at the Granollers wastewater treatment plant, operated by the UTE Facsa-Transparent and whose ownership corresponds to the Consorci Besòs Tordera.
The consortium is made up of Facsa, Enagás, which leads the project as a water services company with extensive experience in wastewater treatment, is the company responsible for the development, operation and maintenance of energy infrastructures, through its innovation and corporate venture division.
Also participating are the Technical Manager of the Spanish Gas System, the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) - as a public institution strongly dedicated to research - and the Chemical Technologies unit and the Manufacturing Laboratory of the Eurecat technology center, with extensive experience in process development projects, especially catalytic ones, and scaling up from laboratory through pilot plants to commercial scale of technologies related to decarbonization, green hydrogen, water and energy.
The interaction of the partners in the balanced HACDOS consortium will ensure rapid technological development, with the ultimate goal of consolidating a business model based on solar photocatalysis in efficient and affordable photoreactor systems as a feasible and profitable wastewater valorization option for green hydrogen production.
Project CPP2021-008619 funded by MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/ PRTR.
