Pollutant Photo-NF remediation of Agro-Water

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

The food and drink industry drains close to 2% of all water consumed in Europe. In fruit processing plants in Greece, a significant proportion of this demand stems from washing raw produce. Cleaning fruit contaminates water with undesirable pathogens and residues of pesticides and fertilisers, before discharging it down drains. In the absence of adequate water treatment facilities, these effluents can pollute the environment and deteriorate water quality. The nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients that they contain increase the risk of eutrophication in water bodies. Plant-borne micro-organisms such as bacteria and viruses can pose human health threats if ingested. Pesticide residues can disturb marine ecosystems and abiotic environments. To conserve fresh water resources and limit the environmental damage of wastewater discharge, effluents from fruit production must be purified and recycled in line with the EU Water Framework Directive.

OBJECTIVES

The LIFE PureAgroH2O project aims to build a new water purifier to clean effluents from the fruit industry. The so-called Photo-Nanofiltration Reactor will extract contaminants from up to 15 cubic metres of wastewater a day by combining state-of-the-art technologies including nanofiltration and photocatalysis. Its solar powered drive will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment, supporting the objectives of the EU 2020 climate and energy package to mitigate climate change. As part of the project, the water purifier will be deployed in an agricultural cooperative in Zagora, Greece. Its field demonstration will allow researchers at the Benaki Phytopathological Institute to benchmark the environmental performance of the technology with respect to that of conventional wastewater treatment. The University of Almeria will install another unit in a citrus farm in Spain to pave the way for transferring the Photo-Nanofiltration Reactor and ultimately commercialising it.

Expected results:

Benchmark wastewater management techniques used in the fruit industry, highlighting limitations in current practices;

Save or reuse 95% of wastewater produced when handling produce in the fruit industry;

Remove close to 100% of pollutants from these agricultural effluents;

Raise public awareness of potential health risks linked to agricultural effluents and stimulate adoption of new cleaning techniques among fruit producers;

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater management in the fruit industry by about 40%;

Mobilise policy makers in Greece, Spain and the rest of the EU to exploit project results in future policies.