NEW SOLUTIONS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REMEDIATION OF BRINE DISCHARGES

Project Information

VENTURI PLUS

Grant agreement ID: 774219

DOI

10.3030/774219

Project closed

EC signature date 17 May 2017

Start date 1 June 2017

End date 30 November 2017

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

ECOS, ESTUDIOS AMBIENTALES Y OCEANOGRAFIA SL
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - VENTURI PLUS (NEW SOLUTIONS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REMEDIATION OF BRINE DISCHARGES)

Reporting period: 2017-06-01 to 2017-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

One of the most important global challenges in the following decades will be access to water, especially with climate change generating extreme events such as lengthy periods of drought.

Considering the scene of extreme drought, desalination is considered a viable source of fresh water that will increase proportionally with the population.
However, desalination plants are expensive to build and require large amounts of energy to operate. A challenge for the coming years is the integration of desalination with renewable energy.

Another problem regarding desalination is the management of the brine byproduct, which results from reverse osmosis and has a heavy impact on marine ecosystems.

To address this need, ECOS has developed the VENTURI+ technology: a diffuser solution with a capacity of minimizing 99% of the environmental impact associated with brine discharges. This technology will reduce the impact of brine discharge on benthic ecosystems.

The Brine V+1 is a technological advancement of the VENTURI diffusers designed by the Technological Institute of the Canary Islands, and in the framework of the Venturi Project has an increased efficiency.

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

During Phase 1, several methods were completed to understand the end-user needs as well as the requirements of the international brine management market.

We attended specialized water trade fairs throughout Europe:
Watec Italy in Palermo, Canagua in Gran Canaria, Africagua in Fuerteventura, Wetex in Dubai or International Water Summit in Abu Dhab. In addition, we participated in specialized meetings with EPC companies and stakeholders (ICEX Integra Agua Dubai) and in business meetings with American and European companies.


A technical analysis of the planned innovation pack reduces the system to an internal design, which improves upon the efficiency of the system as a whole. This increases the dilution rate to more than 1:4, making it the most efficient diffusor system of the market.

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)

The results of the strategic business plans allow us to define our potential market, with an end goal of being the high-tech alternative to conventional diffusor systems. After the third year, we estimate a market share of 50%, launching our product in the international market.

Our end goal is to change the desalination industry, by transforming it into a green business and reducing the ecological impact produced by brine discharge.

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