The latest edition of the Euromembrane congress, which recently brought together more than 700 people at the Valencia Conference Centre, including academics, scientists, and representatives from leading membrane technology industries, highlighted the advancements of the REMEB sustainable ceramic membrane bioreactor (MBR). This initiative, developed by FACSA in collaboration with ten other European partners, offers several advantages, including the utilization of agro-industrial waste to produce these cutting-edge materials. These materials not only optimize wastewater treatment but also reduce costs for industries and enable the reuse of treated water in agriculture.
“The congress has served to publicize the REMEB project to both international researchers and the main companies in the membrane sector, where the initiative has aroused great interest,” said Elena Zuriaga, R&D&I technician at FACSA, who also highlighted that “among other experts, we have had the opportunity to contact leading figures in the field of MBRs such as Professor Simon Judd, Chair of Membrane Technology at Cranfield University, and lay the groundwork for establishing future collaborations in this area.”.
According to forecasts, the REMEB project investigations, which began in 2015, will conclude next August after three years of work. The initiative is currently in the validation phase at the Aledo Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Murcia.
Furthermore, in recent years FACSA has launched various innovations related to the applications of membrane technology to the water industry, which have also been presented at this congress, such as the cost reduction of the osmosis system already being used at the Nules desalination plant to improve water quality and reduce nitrate concentration.
The manufacture – by the Institute of Ceramic Technology (ITC) of the UJI, Natucer and the University of Zaragoza – of low-cost ecological membranes optimized in the REBIABLE project, which has made it possible to develop sustainable membranes with antifouling properties, is another of the projects in charge of FACSA that has also aroused the interest of experts during Euromembrane 2018.
