New water treatments
Wastewater treatment is expensive in Europe. The costs impact industry, particularly in areas of water scarcity where water reuse cannot be avoided. The EU-funded OXFLOC (Integrated water treatment in a one-stage oxidative-adsorptive process to degrade and remove harmful substances) project devised new water treatment technologies. The developments lower treatment costs while offering a modular installation cheaper than alternatives. The system was shown to provide superior environmental benefits and a smaller plant footprint. The innovation avoids the need for pre-treatment of suspended particles, by combining particle removal and oxidation together with flocculation. The system needs few chemicals and relies on electricity alone. Team members first quantified the oxidation process on chosen organic pollutants. They also measured various parameters of synthesised and real landfill wastewater, and determined optimal conditions for the oxidative process. Coupling of the processes allowed for development of the prototype system, which successfully combines electrocoagulation and electro-fenton. The automated system was installed and tested at a landfill site in the Czech Republic. Market analysis and environmental benchmarking demonstrated the positive impacts and potential of the new technologies. Project members made plans to continue the demonstration and marketing of the system beyond the project's end. OXFLOC has yielded a system able to more effectively treat wastewater, and at a lower cost than conventional alternatives. The outcome means improved environmental conditions as well as business opportunity as the technology is transferrable to several other industries.
