Valencian Government and Universitat de València’s Chair of Transformation of the Economic Model: Circular Economy in the Water Sector took part in the II Symposium Economía Circular y Sostenibilidad, organised by the Greek university of Thrace which took place online from the 14th to the 16th of July.

The participation of Chair Director Francesc Hernández, who also moderated one of the congress’ sessions, provided him the opportunity of showcasing the research work done by the Chair’s team, as well as a way of boosting knowledge and the dissemination of circular economy focused on the use of hydric resources.

In this regard, during the symposium, the Chair’s research team presented the results of various high-relevance works for the implementation of circular economy in the water field.

In the first of said works, titled “Feasibility of a circular economy model in the urban water”, Doctor Lledó Castellet analysed the keys for the success of the reclaimed water reuse within the urban setting.

In another communication titled “The impact of asset management on circular economy”, Doctor Castellet highlighted the need of optimising the upkeep and management of equipment or assets used for wastewater treatment by Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) to assure the quality of the service.

In this regard, Doctor Vicent Hernández’s communication is titled “Circular economy in asset management: an approach to replacement” and centres on the application of circular economy to elements or assets of a treatment process, such as water bombs, with the goal of assuring the system’s economic sustainability.

In the case of Researcher Águeda Bellver, she presented a communication titled “Facing the problem of nitrates in groundwater bodies through circular economy approach”.

In this study, Bellver focused on the results of the European project “Life Libernitrate”, developed in Alginet (Valencia) and whose goal is to lower nitrate concentration to 30% in water via a simple, economic and sustainable system based on a filter that uses the ashes produced by the controlled burning of rice hay. This system provides a solution to the nitrate problem encountered within the supply of drinkable water in particularly contaminated areas.

The Chair’s team contributed to the organisation of this international event on circular economy, tightly collaborating with the International Water Association (IWA), which brings together companies and entities constituting the global water field.

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