EU project investigates ways to wash water
A prototype system capable of separating dangerous chemicals from industrial waste water may be feasible within the next three years thanks to a European research project funded by the European Commission's Fifth Framework programme (FP5). The Renomem project aims to find a way of dealing with the problem of large quantities of waste water formed during industrial processes, which is often loaded with environmentally unfriendly salts. This is a common problem for many industries as diverse as food production and the preparation of aluminium to manufacture aircraft. The Renomem consortium brings together partners from Finland, Germany, Italy and Israel who are investigating how to separate caustic molecules from water through a special new membrane for nanofiltration by reverse osmosis. 'The technology is unique because you can adjust the [membranes'] properties to required applications,' Moti Perry, one of the Israeli project partners told CORDIS News. The project has already attracted the attention of a number of end-users in his country, he says, including Mekerot - a major water supplier in Israel - as well as the Israeli aircraft industry and Agfa Europe, who use aluminium plate for printing. Launching such a project would have been possible without FP5, but much more difficult, says Mr Perry. ' The bonus of the network is that even in the lab phase you can comment.'