PANIWATER (Photo-irradiation and Adsorption based Novel Innovations for Water-treatment) was an Horizon 2020 India-EU water cooperation project, co-funded by the European Commission and by the Indian Department of Science and Technology.
Globally, 2.1 billion people live without access to safe water, and about 159 million people collect their drinking water directly from surface water sources. This issue is particularly prominent in water stressed areas, such as India, which accounts for a rural population of ca. 700 million, 63 million of which do not have access to clean water . In addition, Contaminants of Emerging Concerns (CECs) are increasingly being detected in wastewater effluents around the world. CECs are pollutants that can cause deleterious effect to aquatic life and human health, but are not yet in routine monitoring programs. In India, the Central Pollution Control Board reveals that more than 50% of wastewater remains untreated, at risk of compromising environmental services and drinking water resources.
PANIWATER developed, deployed and validated in the laboratory and in the field six prototypes for the removal of contaminants, including CECs, from wastewater and drinking water. The prototypes for wastewater treatment were (i) a 20000 L/day multifunctional oxidation reactor, (MFR) (ii) a 10 L/day photoelectrochemical system (PES), and (iii) a 100 L/day solar photolytic plant (SPP). The prototypes for drinking water treatment were (iv) a 300 L/hour filtration, adsorption, and UVC LED system (FAU) (v) a 20 L transparent jerrycan for solar water disinfection (TJC), and (vi) a 2000 L/day electrocoagulation, oxidation, and disinfection system (EOD). These prototypes have been deployed in peri-urban and rural areas in India. The consortium worked closely with the communities at the field sites, and carried out water quality analyses, health and social impact assessments. Furthermore, through local territorial organisations, the project advocated for safe reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation, and preservation of drinking water sources. PANIWATER technologies can find promising application among the agricultural sector, water-demanding businesses (e.g. textile, pharmaceutical), and the Indian water utilities
The goal of the project was to increase the availability of safe drinking water to the minimum level recommended by the WHO (at least 7.5 L/person/day) in target communities in India, and to obtain wastewater treatment capacity of at least 10000L /day, producing irrigation-grade, CEC-free, water.
