A new pilot project combining desalination and wastewater treatment on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria could be a gamechanger for communities with water scarcity issues.
Aquaporin’s VP of Open Innovation, Jörg Vogel. Credit: Aquaporin
Aquaporin’s VP of Open Innovation, Jörg Vogel. Credit: Aquaporin
A collaboration between Danish water technology company Aquaporin, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and the Canary Islands Institute of Technology, the project aims to develop a revolutionising forward osmosis pilot plant in Mancomunidad del Sureste de Gran Canaria.
Forward osmosis is a water separation process that is being increasingly applied in a range of water treatment applications from industrial wastewater to the food and beverage sector. It separates water from dissolved solutes using a semipermeable membrane and the natural energy of osmotic pressure.
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The idea behind the one-of-a-kind project is to combine wastewater treatment and desalination to ensure a supply of clean water in areas suffering a lack of naturally-sourced water.
The collaborators will guide, train and educate each other with the ultimate aim of facilitating more sustainable water management in the Canary Islands and beyond.
"This project represents a revolutionary way of combining what nowadays are two reject streams – wastewater and desalination brine – to increase the water resources of a region with water shortage issues such as the Canary Islands," said Ángel Rivero Falcón, Technical Researcher at Canary Islands Institute of Technology.
If the pilot is successful, it could represent a technological breakthrough in the sector. Combining desalination and the treatment of wastewater would be a major step in making forward osmosis an economically viable solution to water management.
According to Aquaporin, the desalination brine - which usually poses a discharge challenge - instead provides the forward osmosis system with a continuous and free-of-charge draw solution without the need for regeneration.
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The company added that its Aquaporin Inside membranes should ensure minimal cross-contamination and high efficiency on an island where circularity and reuse are of utmost importance to address water scarcity issues.
Gran Canaria pilot. Credit: Aquaporin
The Gran Canaria pilot could prove to be a gamechanger for the water treatment sector. Credit: Aquaporin
The clean water generated by the system can be used for irrigation purposes.
Desalination facilities are commonplace in parts of the world where access to naturally-sourced drinking water is scarce. This means the pilot has the potential to be a global solution in areas where seawater is the primary, or even the only, source of water.
"Open innovation and collaboration have always been at the heart of Aquaporin – both when it comes to developing the world’s first biomimetic membrane, but also regarding innovative applications and where to use them," said Aquaporin’s VP of Open Innovation, Jörg Vogel.
"The collaboration with University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Canary Islands Institute of Technology is a great example of where combining different technologies with forward osmosis has the potential to make a significant difference, and it is our belief it will further strengthen Aquaporin’s position in the market," he added.
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The collaborative research, development, and innovation project allows Aquaporin and its partners to exchange and train key resources and enables the development of a combined desalination and wastewater treatment solution which can be commercialised.
The project, which is partly funded by the EU European Regional Development Fund, is set to last until July 2024, with the possibility of extension.
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