Supercritical Treatment of Process Wastewaters from Surface Treatment Industry MEtals

Project Information

STOP WASTIN’ ME

Grant agreement ID: 190149727

DOI

10.3030/190149727

Project closed

EC signature date 29 July 2022

Start date 1 April 2022

End date 30 September 2024

Funded under

• The European Innovation Council (EIC)

Total cost

€ 4 783 870,00

EU contribution

€ 2 500 000,00

Coordinated by

CIRCULAR MATERIALS SRL
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - STOP WASTIN’ ME (Supercritical Treatment of Process Wastewaters from Surface Treatment Industry MEtals)

Reporting period: 2023-07-01 to 2024-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

According to the EEA Report 23/2018, more than 3000 tpa of heavy metals are discharged into the environment annually within the European Union. Chromium, copper, nickel, and zinc are among the elements predominantly discharged by SMEs in the surface treatment industry. Current state-of-the-art industrial wastewater treatment technologies fail to efficiently capture and recover these dissolved metals, typically generating toxic sludges that require disposal in authorized landfills as hazardous waste. This practice result in the loss of over 95% of the metals present in wastewater, representing a substantial missed opportunity for resource recovery.

Circular Materials has developed and patented sustainable technologies and processes aimed at efficiently recovering dissolved metals from industrial wastewater, producing clean water and secondary raw materials, including critical and strategic raw materials such as nickel, copper and precious metals. Our key technology, known as Supercritical Water Precipitation (SWP), offers a groundbreaking approach to the valorisation of industrial effluents, setting a new standard for efficiency, sustainability, and versatility.

Key benefits of Circular Materials’ SWP technology include:

Efficiency: Achieving recovery rates exceeding 99%, far superior to conventional methods.

Sustainability: Reducing carbon footprints while recovering a wide array of dissolved metals and critical raw materials.

Versatility: The thermophysical SWP process is capable of treating any dissolved metals, irrespective of the chemical complexity of the surrounding matrix.

Modularity: Scalable design allows multiple units to be combined, improving energy efficiency and reducing capital intensity.

We developed a smart engineering approach where by continuously mixing wastewater with supercritical water in a reactor, the metals precipitate as a solid powder that can be easily separated from the aqueous phase. This approach eliminates the production of sludges, revolutionizing the treatment sector and resolving environmental concerns. Moreover, the recovered high-purity metals can be reused in the same applications, facilitating a perfect circular approach. he same applications, facilitating a perfect circular approach.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Circular Materials has undertaken a comprehensive journey to develop, test, and deploy its groundbreaking technology, advancing it from concept to a fully integrated and automated operational system. The project began with a focus on scaling up and optimizing our SWP technology, emphasizing its core components to ensure industrial relevance and impact.

The heat exchangers, critical for achieving supercritical conditions, were meticulously designed, thermally evaluated through finite element modeling (FEM), and tested in prototype machines. This process ensured compactness, efficiency, and adaptability to a range of operational envelopes, while a heat recovery system was implemented to reduce energy consumption. Concurrently, various mixer designs were evaluated and refined to optimize fluid dynamics and ensure precise control over particle size distribution and morphology.

In parallel, we upgraded the software driving our system to support seamless operational automation. Enhanced control logic and predictive maintenance algorithms were incorporated to ensure uninterrupted performance and minimize downtime. Remote monitoring capabilities were added to provide real-time oversight for both customers and Circular Materials, streamlining system management and enabling greater operational efficiency.

Following the development phase, the technology was tested in partnership with two selected customer sites, representing diverse industrial applications. These deployments allowed for real-world validation of the system’s capabilities, providing valuable insights and further refinement opportunities.

Building on these successes, the first fully automated CMH0 was established in Cadoneghe, near Padova, in September 2024. At this facility, our technology has been integrated into an operational ecosystem, marking a significant milestone, positioning Circular Materials as a leader in sustainable resource recovery

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Circular Materials has redefined the state of the art in SRM recovery: unlike conventional chemical-physical recovery processes, our SWP technology achieves unprecedented recovery rates of over 99%, even for metals embedded in chemically complex matrices.

Our innovative technology platform supports applications across a range of large and rapidly growing European industrial sectors, including surface treatment, electronics, and hydrometallurgy, which generate vast quantities of metal-rich wastewaters. These effluents, often considered a liability, are transformed into a source of high-purity metals and clean water.

The operational launch of CMH0 is not just a technological achievement but a demonstration of scalability, versatility, and economic viability. It validates our ability to deliver distributed recycling hubs that support localized resource recovery while contributing to broader European goals for strategic autonomy and sustainability in critical raw materials.

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