URBANBAT project finds new model for green urban public transport
An EU funded project has developed a waste management model for the recovery and reuse of over 90% of the water needed in cleaning the fleet of vehicles of a public transport company. The URBANBAT project, which received funds under the LIFE programme, sought to dramatically reduce the pollution generated by the Urban Transport Company (EMT) in the Spanish region of Valencia, by prolonging the life span of products and water used for the maintenance of the vehicles fleet. The public-private partnership project managed to reduce the consumption of water and other fluids through recycling and 'decycling'. This meant that 90% of the water used for washing vehicles' bodywork was recycled into high quality water through a filtration system made up of membranes. The remaining 10% was decycled for uses other than drinking water. It also extended the lifecycle of used antifreeze fluids, treating them with customised filtration techniques that enabled them to be reused for a period of up to four years per vehicle. 'Water is a very scarce resource and the technology developed by the Municipal Transport Company of Valencia is an innovative way of achieving a sustainable model for all entities willing to recycle it,' said Juan Manuel Revuelta, Director General of the Valencian Regional Office in Brussels The project owners hope the water management model will be taken up by other public transport companies around Europe and elsewhere in the world. The URBANBAT project is being showcased at the Europe INNOVA Conference, hosted by the city of Valencia from 26 to 28 November.
Countries
Spain