Project description
Cleaning wastewater through osmosis
Used in nature for a long time – by plants, trees and human cells – forward osmosis is today considered a promising technology for wastewater treatment. It involves the transport of water molecules across a semi-permeable membrane. The EU-funded INDIA-H20 project will develop and demonstrate novel batch-reverse osmosis technology for high-recovery, low-cost water treatment. For rural domestic water treatment, the new system will remove salinity and emerging pollutants like agricultural chemicals. For industrial wastewater in textile, desalination and dairy, the project will develop a cost-effective hybrid technology for recycling with minimum liquid discharge. The project will test its technologies in India’s arid state of Gujarat where surface water resources are scarce. Policy briefs on economic models and governance agreements will be disseminated.
Objective
INDIA-H20 will develop, design and demonstrate high-recovery, low-cost water treatment systems for saline groundwater and industrial wastewaters. The focus for developments will be in the arid state of Gujarat, where surface water resources are very scarce. We will develop novel batch-reverse osmosis technology for a 10-fold reduction in specific energy consumption with high fractions of water recovery (80%) reducing /m3 operating costs to below €0.35/m3 (<30 rupees/m3). Forward osmosis will be developed and piloted for use in wastewater recovery applications including hybrid arrangements with reverse osmosis for further reduction in energy consumption. These solutions will be demonstrated in small-scale rurally relevant low-cost systems for brackish groundwater treatment for use as safe drinking water, which will be extended to include phyto-technology solutions for rural domestic wastewater treatment. Systems will remove salinity and emerging pollutants (e.g. agricultural chemicals), valorise rejected brines in halophytic crop cultivation. For specific industrial wastewater in textile, desalination and dairy we will develop and demonstrate cost-effective high-efficiency hybrid technologies for water recycling with minimum liquid discharge, using advanced membrane technologies to achieve the required water quality for recycling. A centre of excellence will be established in water treatment membrane technologies, design operation and monitoring. Activities such as supply chain mapping and EU India collaboration on developing industrial scale forward osmosis membranes and batch-RO systems will support the development of business models to exploit the developed solutions to mutual EU/India economic advantage. We will analyse and produce policy briefs on economic models and governance arrangements for viable adoption of the developed systems.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwaste managementwaste treatment processesrecycling
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processesdrinking water treatment processes
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processeswastewater treatment processes
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrology
- engineering and technologychemical engineeringseparation technologiesdesalinationreverse osmosis
Keywords
Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.3.5. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials Main Programme
- H2020-EU.3.5.4. - Enabling the transition towards a green economy and society through eco-innovation
- H2020-EU.3.5.2.2. - Developing integrated approaches to address water-related challenges and the transition to sustainable management and use of water resources and services
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
B15 2TT Birmingham
United Kingdom
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Participants (20)
Legal entity established in a non-associated third country that is not eligible for funding under Article 10 of the Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 laying down the rules for participation and dissemination in Horizon 2020.
Participation ended
110001 NEW DELHI
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Legal entity established in a non-associated third country that is not eligible for funding under Article 10 of the Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 laying down the rules for participation and dissemination in Horizon 2020.
Participation ended
380009 Ahmedabad
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Legal entity established in a non-associated third country that is not eligible for funding under Article 10 of the Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 laying down the rules for participation and dissemination in Horizon 2020.
Participation ended
382024 Gandhinagar
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Legal entity established in a non-associated third country that is not eligible for funding under Article 10 of the Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 laying down the rules for participation and dissemination in Horizon 2020.
Participation ended
380025 Ahmedabad
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382007 Gandhinagar
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28040 MADRID
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2800 Kobenhavn
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Legal entity established in a non-associated third country that is not eligible for funding under Article 10 of the Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 laying down the rules for participation and dissemination in Horizon 2020.
637141 Singapore
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2611 AX Delft
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08225 Terrassa
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263145 Pantnagar
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EH3 7PE Edinburgh
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
84105 Beer Sheva
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600053 Chennai
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Participation ended
411052 Pune
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
700032 Kolkata
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Participation ended
394210 SURAT
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15180 Culleredo
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B4 7ET Birmingham
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110001 NEW DELHI
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