LIFE Project: Sustainable production of drinking and irrigation water from alternative saline water resources
- Type Project
- Status In progress
- Execution 2024 -2029
- Assigned Budget 4.417.999,00 €
- Scope Europeo
- Autonomous community Madrid, Comunidad de
- Main source of financing LIFE
- Project website Web del proyecto
The LIFE SALTEAU project aims to create new and upgraded multi-purpose infrastructures with breakthrough capabilities to unlock the true value of AWRs. Industrial-scale adoption of SALTEAU results will increase EU water availability (2035) by up to 8,050 Mm3/yr (desalinated drinking and wastewater = 10,020 Mm3/yr + reclaimed water = 3,040 Mm3/yr) to meet 5.4% of EU water demand.
Although alternative water resources (AWRs), wastewater (WW), brackish water (BW), and seawater (SW), are reliable water sources, their use is very limited in the EU (1.6% of water supply) due to relatively high costs, quality, technological reliability, new and stringent EU regulations, and acceptance. AWRs contain critical materials and resources that are not being recovered, opening up an auspicious approach to generating revenue and reducing water costs by activating circular economy "wastewater and brine mining" schemes. New, sustainable and viable solutions are urgently needed to address the supply of freshwater and critical raw materials. LIFE SALTEAU establishes a new paradigm in which AWRs are cost-effective by reducing energy consumption: 26% (BW), 50% (SW) and 80% WW, and a competitive levelised cost of water compared to conventional solutions (€/m3): BW (0.5 > 0.3), SW (0.6 > 0.4) and reclaimed water (0.5 > 0.3).
Innovative technologies will be scaled up, including the microbial desalination cell, membrane-based processes (direct nanofiltration, biomimetic and membrane distillation), capacitive deionization, and the Ca/Mg recovery system, coupled with renewable energy (solar, wind, and organic matter). Long-term validation will be carried out at two demonstration sites, Mediterranean and Atlantic, at a relevant scale (production during SALTEAU: freshwater (~400,000 m3 = 145,000 BW + 230,000 SW + 22,000 WW), materials (77 t Ca and 66 t Mg). This will serve as a showcase for early and end-users of freshwater and Ca/Mg products. A comprehensive exploitation plan (value proposition, customer segment, revenue streams, replication) has already been drafted.
- Coordinator/entity name: Frank Rogalla
Postal address: CALLE FEDERICO SALMON 13, 28016, Madrid,
- FCC AQUALIA SA
- Omya SA
- OMYA GMBH
- SOLARSPRING GMBH
- AQUAPORIN AS
- CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIONES ENERGETICAS MEDIOAMBIENTALES Y TECNOLOGICAS
- UNIVERSIDAD DE ALMERIA
- NX FILTRATION BV
Related projects
