Water Alliance member NX Filtration, the global provider of breakthrough direct nanofiltration technology for pure and affordable water, announces its participation in the European innovation project LIFE PRISTINE, led by ACCIONA S.A. The project’s objective is to eliminate emerging contaminants in the integral water cycle, one of the essential measures to promote alternative water resources in the face of water scarcity, which affects more than 2.8 billion people worldwide.
The LIFE PRISTINE project has a budget of 4 million euros and is coordinated by ACCIONA, the Spanish sustainable infrastructure solutions group. Next to ACCIONA and NX Filtration, project partners include Eurecat, Xylem Services, the Regional Entity for Wastewater Sanitation and Treatment of the Murcia Region (ESAMUR) and the water utility provider Bilbao Bizkaia Water Consortium (CABB).
The LIFE PRISTINE project combines water treatment processes, including NX Filtration’s hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes, with artificial intelligence-based digital tools to develop a solution that removes emerging pollutants in the integrated water cycle. The integrated and versatile PRISTINE solution will be demonstrated in a representative full-scale operational environment.
Many forums have alerted on the urgent need to take steps to protect water resources, mainly through a reduction in water consumption but also by promoting alternative resources and reuse. These new resources are essential to guarantee water supplies for the future. One of the challenges to overcome fostering the reuse of water is the elimination of emerging pollutants and microplastics. These substances of anthropogenic origin are difficult to eliminate by using existing treatment systems and they may end up in seas and rivers, or even enter the food chain. Their presence may create hazards, which is why there is increasing emphasis on regulating the use of these substances and developing solutions to remove them from the environment.
LIFE PRISTINE is a sustainable alternative to ensure the elimination of emerging pollutants (+80%) in the end-to-end water cycle. It goes beyond the limits set by Directive 2020/2184/CE on Water for Human Consumption and the new European Regulation on minimum requirements for water reuse (Regulation (UE) 2020/741). LIFE PRISTINE focuses on emerging pollutants of the PFAS type (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances, used e.g. in flame retardants), pesticides, pharmaceutical and personal care products, toxins microplastics and genes of microorganisms that are resistant to antibiotics. The project will help to strengthen the existing legislation and promote the reuse of water with the highest quality and safety standards.
The PRISTINE solution involves processes of adsorption, nanofiltration and advanced oxidation using virtual sensors, process modelling and decision-making support tools. It will be capable of eliminating emerging pollutants efficiently (+80%, -30% OpEx) from water sources and wastewater effluent. The PRISTINE project will be demonstrated in a representative operating environment on a real scale: treating the secondary effluent of a treatment plant in Murcia and supporting drinking water pre-treatment in the Bilbao Bizkaia Advanced Water Treatment Centre (CATABB).
The LIFE21-ENV-ES-LIFE PRISTINE project (with project number 101074430) is funded by the European Union under the LIFE-2021-SAP-ENV call. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure and Environment (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Source: NX Filtration
