CALAGUA research group, University of Valencia.

The environmental technology research group CALAGUA of the University of Valencia (UV), within the framework of the European project REWAISE, has developed a new technology based on anaerobic reactors, MEMB-RANER, aimed at improving the process of reusing treated wastewater and save on fertiliser consumption. The system has been successfully tested in Almería and allows costs to be reduced by 25% while preserving the essential nutrients present in the wastewater used for crop irrigation.

This initiative is part of the REWAISE European project, funded by the Horizon 2020 programme, which brings together 24 entities from 11 countries with the aim of creating a new intelligent water ecosystem. REWAISE seeks a more efficient use of water, as well as the recovery of materials, energy and nutrients throughout the process, in order to maximise the value obtained from water in its cycle management.

Specifically, the application of the MEMB-RANER technology has been developed in the Cuatro Vegas – Bajo Andarax irrigation area of Almería, combining the use of desalinated water with reused water produced through the MEMB-RANER process. To this end, Aqualia, the company coordinating the project, installed the AnMBR reactor at the El Bobar wastewater treatment plant with the objective of reusing water at a low energy cost.

The MEMB-RANER technology optimises water treatment, generates bioenergy and reduces sludge production. The result is a stream of regenerated water of very high quality that also retains the nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus). This makes it particularly suitable for reuse in agriculture, green areas and urban parks.

According to researchers Alberto Bouzas and Silvia Greses from the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Valencia and members of the CALAGUA-UV group, “the application of the MEMB-RANER technology in the study area of Cuatro Vegas – Bajo Andarax (Almería) would result in up to a 25% reduction in operational costs for the reuse of treated water compared with the current situation”.

This reduction is associated both with intrinsic factors of the wastewater treatment process itself (lower pumping costs and greater energy production through the biogas generated) and with the reduced cost of the commercial fertilisers needed for crops, thanks to the nutrients introduced through the water treated with the MEMB-RANER technology.

Wastewater Treatment and Purification

The CALAGUA-UV group of the University of Valencia is made up of academic staff from the Department of Chemical Engineering. Its work focuses on environmental technology, particularly the treatment and purification of wastewater. For more than three decades, it has collaborated with various national and international research groups on projects related to the development of technologies for the removal of pollutants and the recovery of resources from both urban and industrial wastewater, as well as on the development of control systems and simulation models for wastewater treatment plants.

Research group CALAGUA of the University of Valencia.