Descrizione del progetto
Fanghi di depurazione attivi come risorsa
Il trattamento delle acque reflue produce grandi quantità di fanghi di depurazione attivi, ovvero un residuo semisolido indesiderato. L’ammodernamento dei processi di trattamento delle acque reflue è una fase necessaria verso il raggiungimento degli obiettivi del Green Deal dell’Unione europea. In questo processo, è di fondamentale importanza considerare il trattamento delle acque reflue come risorsa anziché come prodotto indesiderato. Il progetto CAVIPHY, finanziato dal CER, svilupperà un dispositivo unico che sfrutta la cavitazione per pretrattare i fanghi di depurazione attivi industriali o domestici prima della digestione anaerobica. Tuttavia, il processo deve essere totalmente modernizzato e perfezionato per esprimere tutte le sue potenzialità. Il progetto si baserà sulle conoscenze acquisiste dal progetto CABUM, finanziato da una sovvenzione di consolidamento del CER, che ha sviluppato un generatore rotante economico per la cavitazione idrodinamica il quale agisce contemporaneamente come generatore di cavitazione e come pompa. CAVIPHY migliorerà il trattamento dei fanghi di depurazione attivi producendo metano.
Obiettivo
One of the most pressing global problems is the increasing pollution of surface and groundwater, which threatens the world's clean water supply and public health. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the last barrier between ever-increasing human activities and the environment, produce huge amounts, up to 13 million tonnes per year in the EU alone1, of unwanted semi-solid by-product - waste activated sludge (WAS). Therefore, upgrading wastewater (WW) processes with new circular economy approaches is crucial to achieve the goals of the EU Green Deal. Considering WAS as a resource rather than an unwanted end-product is the first step towards sustainable WW treatment. CAVIPHY will address this need directly by developing a unique device that exploits cavitation to pre-treat industrial or domestic WAS prior to anaerobic digestion (AD). However, this process, simple in its fundamentals, will never be sufficient to make a substantial contribution to current and future energy needs unless it is extensively modernized and refined to reach its full potential. Based on the knowledge gained within the ERC-CoG CABUM, we have developed a rotating generator for hydrodynamic cavitation (RGHC) - a scalable and cost-effective device that works simultaneously as a cavitation generator and a pump. With CAVIPHY, we will improve the disintegration, settleability and dewatering of WAS, resulting in synergistic effects in terms of lower costs associated with reduced volumes of WAS and environmental burden from its disposal, while producing methane – a renewable bioenergy source. This will have a direct impact on the economics of WWTPs, as the WAS associated costs already account for nearly half of the total WWTP operation expenses and will continue to increase.
Campo scientifico
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic health
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processeswastewater treatment processes
- engineering and technologyenvironmental biotechnologybioremediationbioreactors
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryaliphatic compounds
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-AG-LS - HORIZON Lump Sum GrantIstituzione ospitante
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia