Project description
Innovative industrial water purification technology supports a circular economy
Removal of water pollutants before water is used in industrial processes is a key step in most industries. It often takes place via filtration, deionisation and water softening, involving a lot of chemicals and requiring increased energy consumption. Water scarcity is a significant issue given that three fourths of freshwater in Europe go towards industrial processes. The Spanish SME Bioazul has developed innovative water purification technology for industrial applications that promises water efficiency greater than 97 %, 45 % energy savings and 60 % fewer CO2 emissions. The EU-funded AQUA PUR TM project is helping the team prepare the path to market for their totally automated plug-and-play technology.
Objective
Almost all industrial applications require a high-water purity at some point of the process stage for manufacturing, in cooling towers, as boiler feed water rinsing, cleaning and ensuring product quality. The EU market for industrial process water purification is valued with 761M€/year with a growth rate of 5% annually. AQUA-PURTM system, developed by BIOAZUL, is a suitable system to penetrate this growing market. It is based on Membrane Distillation, is a fully automatic water purification process without any need of pretreatment or added chemicals. Compared to SotA, dependent on the type of application 35-85% of fresh water as well as 45% of electric energy can be saved. AQUA-PUR TM demonstrated during a test in an industrial laundry, to be a water and energy-efficient, economically accessible and profitable solution, reaching a 97% water efficiency and a resulting water purity that meets the demands of the rinsing and washing processes. AQUA-PURTM will facilitate the transition to a circular economy in the industrial water purification sector. Our business opportunity is reflected in a large number of EU-industrial establishments seeking to reduce their freshwater consumption and meet the environmental legislation for efficiency. There is a huge market potential for higher resource efficiency and less water footprint and, as an impelling factor of our business success, the current EU legal framework aims to promote water efficiency in the industry through innovative solutions.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processeswastewater treatment processes
- engineering and technologychemical engineeringseparation technologiesdesalinationreverse osmosis
- engineering and technologychemical engineeringseparation technologiesdistillation
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
29001 Malaga
Spain
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.