The international consortium of REMEB, made up of FACSA, ITC-UJI, ESAMUR, the Council of Chambers of the Valencian Community and IPROMA, has presented the project to professionals in the water sector at a conference held in the Murcian town of Aledo.
An initiative has developed a sustainable ceramic membrane bioreactor (MBR) based on waste from various agro-industrial processes, currently undergoing validation. Current ceramic membranes are manufactured from pure ceramic oxides (such as alumina, zirconia, or titania), which is costly due to the expense of raw materials and the complex manufacturing process.
The incorporation of waste into the composition of the membranes proposed by the REMEB project not only reduces the volume of waste accumulated in landfills, but also the price of this water treatment technology.
The presentation of this initiative took place on June 28th in Aledo, a municipality in Murcia where the REMEB MBR pilot project has been installed, and was attended by representatives from various organizations. Prior to the presentation, a visit was organized to the wastewater treatment plant, where project technicians demonstrated the technology in operation.
The opening of the day was led by José Guillermo Berlanga, R&D director of FACSA; as well as Joaquín Ruiz, manager of ESAMUR and Carmen Rojo, finance councilor of the Aledo City Council.
Ignacio Pastor, Operations Coordinator for the Alicante-Murcia area of FACSA, presented the work carried out with recycled ceramic membranes, as well as the challenges posed and the solutions provided, which have led to the creation of low-cost ceramic membranes suitable for the treatment and reuse of wastewater.
Next, Elena Zuriaga, R&D Technician at FACSA and coordinator of the REMEB project, spoke, explaining the characteristics of the developed MBR and the results obtained to date, which highlight the potential for commercialization of the technology in the future.
Furthermore, the REMEB consortium expressed its commitment to continued research in this field after the project's completion, aiming for full system optimization. The goal is to ensure its competitiveness against existing technologies, thereby facilitating its market entry.
Also participating in the event was Rafael Casielles, Project Manager of the company BIOAZUL, who presented the RICHWATER project which works on the regeneration of water for agricultural use.
For his part, Emilio Nicolás, senior scientist at the CSIC, spoke about the practical case of using reclaimed water from the Jumilla Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Miraflores irrigation community.
Finally, Pedro Simón, Technical Director of ESAMUR, gave the key points of the new European regulations on water reuse, currently under development, and explained the challenges that its entry into force presents.
Manuel Abellán, Technician and Head of Operations Zone 1 of ESAMUR, moderated and closed the day which was attended by dozens of technicians and professionals from the water sector from several provinces with interests in innovation and sustainability in this field.
The REMEB project began in September 2015 and will conclude in August 2018. It comprises 11 international partners from 7 countries, led by FACSA. Other participants include the Institute of Ceramic Technology ITC-UJI, the French engineering firm IMECA PROCESS, the Cypriot consultancy ATLANTIS, the Norwegian company BIOWATER, the Council of Chambers of Commerce of the Valencian Community, the Castellón-based environmental research and projects laboratory IPROMA, the Italian ceramic center CENTRO CERAMICO, the Turkish ceramic research center SAM, the Antonio Nariño University of Colombia, and the Wastewater Treatment and Purification Entity of the Region of Murcia, ESAMUR.
More information: www.remeb-h2020.com
