LIFE Project: Circular economy applied to nitrate elimination: hydrogen generation and waste recovery into drinking water
- Type Project
- Status In progress
- Execution 2023 -2027
- Assigned Budget 2.329.944,00 €
- Scope Europeo
- Autonomous community Comunitat Valenciana
- Main source of financing LIFE
- Project website Web del proyecto
The LIFE ELEKTRA project aims to reduce nitrate concentrations throughout the water cycle by co-creating an integrated, innovative, simple, cost-effective, sustainable, and transferable system. The project system will be based on the use of electrochemical denitrification to remove nitrates and convert them into nitrogen gas, while enhancing the decarbonization of the process through the analysis of renewable energy integration, focusing on photovoltaics and hydrogen, and other optimization tools.
Nutrients such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are essential for plant growth and are often used as fertilizers to ensure higher yields in agriculture. However, rising demands in food production have led to increased production and the concomitant use of fertilizers, which is associated with increased water pollution (nitrates and phosphorus in surface waters can cause eutrophication), air and soil pollution, and negative effects on human health (nitrate concentrations above 50 ppm are harmful to infants, fetuses, and people with health problems). Globally, N and P levels already exceed safe limits, posing a serious threat to nature and the climate.
Europe contributes significantly to this form of pollution. The European Environment Agency (EEA) estimates that in Europe, the limit for N losses is exceeded by a factor of 3.3 and the limit for P losses by a factor of 2. According to the latest EEA report on the state of Europe's waters, nitrates are the main pollutant in the EU, affecting more than 18% of the surface groundwater bodies, with agriculture being the main cause. Despite efforts to prevent nitrate pollution, the European Commission continues to pursue infringement procedures against several Member States, including Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Spain. As a result, in 2020 Spain reviewed and designated Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs), including Gandía and four of the eight Canary Islands. Malta is a similar case, as the entire island was designated a NVZ in 2008 following an extensive and detailed groundwater quality monitoring program.
- Validate electrochemical denitrification technology applied to the treatment of streams with high nitrate concentrations, transforming nitrates into gaseous nitrogen that is emitted into the atmosphere without impacting the environment.
- To recover the waste produced during the pre- and post-water conditioning stages of electrochemical denitrification, creating a process that will approach Zero Liquid Discharge into the environment.
- To demonstrate the validity of a system that allows the hybridization of renewable energies to cover the largest possible number of energy needs of the process, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by decarbonizing the process. To this end, the design and implementation of a stage for the capture, concentration, and storage of hydrogen gas, a byproduct produced in the denitrification process, is planned. This high-purity hydrogen stream will be used to power a fuel cell. In addition, solar photovoltaic energy will be coupled to the denitrification process as an energy source.
- Demonstrate the replicability of the proposed solution by addressing three case studies, located in Spain (Valencia and the Canary Islands) and the Republic of Malta, each with different characteristics, but with the same challenge.
- Increase the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the proposed solution from the current TRL 5-6 to TRL 8.
The discharge of approximately 1,460 m3/year of contaminated water (4 m3/day) currently generated at the Gandía reversible electrodialysis plant will be avoided. In addition, an existing pilot plant will be adapted to treat 0.5 m3/day for six months (91 m3 in total) in La Aldea (Gran Canaria) and at the Bingemma pumping station (Malta).
The calcium (Ca) concentration will be reduced from 750 mg/l to 10 mg/l in the first step of the process (softening using ion exchange technology). This will allow for the production of more than 1,000 kg of Ca/year. The Ca obtained will be used in the project's process, specifically in the post-treatment demineralization stage.
An 85% removal (almost 500 kg) of nitrates, converted into nitrogen gas, after concentrating the nitrates with reverse osmosis (from 420 ppm to 1,600 ppm).
Energy production from two sources: on the one hand, with the hydrogen produced through the process (10.88 kWh/day and approximately 4,000 kWh/year) and, on the other, with photovoltaic panels (26 kWh/day and approximately 9,500 kWh/year). Total production (approximately 13,500 kWh/year) is estimated at 30% of the project's projected consumption.
Avoid the emission of more than 1,850 kg of CO2 per year, considering a ratio of 138 g of CO2 equivalent per kWh of electricity consumed (energy mix data from March 2023 in Spain).
- Coordinator/entity name: Maria Pedro
Postal address: GRAN VIA MARQUES DEL TURIA 19, 46005, Valencia,
- AGUAS DE VALENCIA SA
- UNIVERSIDAD DE ALICANTE
- APRIA SYSTEMS SL
- UNIVERSITAT DE VALENCIA
- ASOCIACION INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO DE LA ENERGIA
- INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO DE CANARIAS S.A.
- REDINN - SRL
- WATER SERVICES CORPORATION - WSC
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