Overview

Murcia is an area of extreme water stress in Spain and Europe due to high agricultural use and a prolonged historical drought. Water demand in this territory is higher than the quantity available. In semi-arid regions, like Murcia, water reuse has demonstrated the most sustainable alternative to the use of desalinated seawater or imported water in both economic and environmental impact. However, high cost, demanding quality requirements, and limited use, are barriers to its application.

In 2020 (EU 741/2020), the European Commission created a regulatory framework, establishing minimum quality requirements for reclaimed water intended for agricultural irrigation. This new European directive is more restrictive than existing regulations in Spain and mandatory as of 2023.

Problem

The LIFE WARRIOR Project, co-financed by the LIFE program of the European Commission, is working with Cetaqua Water technology Center and Aguas de Murcia (EMUASA) and Aquatec to create an innovative, sustainable and cost-effective water recuperation train to ensure that recovered water is safe for crop irrigation, in line with European Regulations.

Innovation

Reused ultrafiltration membranes from drinking water treatment plants are paired with UV-C LED technology to meet quality standards. AquiSense PearlAqua Kilo™ provides robust design, mercury free operation, low cost of ownership and maintenance, and chemical-free disinfection in a small, self-contained unit. Automatic on/off switching provides the ability to instantaneously turn the LEDs on/off with no restriction on the number of cycles per day. No warmup period gives operators more control over system use. All replacement parts are designed to be isolated from the reaction chamber while still pressurized. Operators simply remove a few external fixtures to remove the lamp assembly and reattach a new lamp module. The technology allows for all electronic lamp drivers to be housed in the same assembly, thus negating the need for an additional ballast cabinet and interconnecting cabling. This significantly reduces the system footprint, installation complexity and cost.

Advanced thermal management with the PearlAqua Kilo’s™ UV-C LED lamp design, the light emitting surface is completely isolated from the thermal emitting surface. This allows users to limit heat induced fouling and maintain stable thermal management under all ambient and process water conditions. Elimination of concern for handling or breaking a mercury lamp, and no mercury- based health hazards to employees or the environment.

LIFE WARRIOR’s digital tool also provides a decision support system to aid in estimating and extending the lifespan of ultrafiltration membranes and calculate risk with digital sanitary safety plans.

Result

It is estimated that the cost of treatment is reduced by 15% compared to other conventional alternatives. Likewise, the application of this solution is expected to reduce CO2 emissions from these processes by 35%. This new reuse system makes it possible to comply with the new European regulations on quality of reclaimed water for agricultural use and allows the reuse of more than 80% of treated municipal wastewater for crop irrigation.

https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/life_en

https://www.cetaqua.com/en/life-warrior-water-reuse-system-reclaimedwater/

https://www.cetaqua.com/en/proyectos-destacados/life-warrior-3/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TjQD3mZqmo (2 minute YouTube video highlighting the plan)