Technical Guidelines for Nutrient Recovery and Water Reuse in Agriculture and Industry by Analysis, Design and Operation of Treat & Reuse Membrane Bioreactors [MBR] in Europe
On average, 44% of total water abstraction in Europe is used in agriculture. Evidence of water scarcity in Europe is borne out by research that shows increasing strain on water resources in 30% of EU member states. Current research seems to validate the view that wastewater treatment and reuse is a technical opportunity to address the imbalances between agricultural water demand and European water resources in the long term. Currently, just 2.4% of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents are reused, and thus the water reuse potential in Europe remains high. This document reports on and analyses the performance of a prototype-scale plant installed to treat real wastewater in rural Spain using a Treat & Reuse Membrane Bioreactor (T&R MBR). It shows that the T&R MBR is an improvement on MBR operations due to the fact that it produced a solids-free, nutrient rich and high-quality permeate in which Escherichia Coli was removed to values < 1 ufc/100ml.
Furthermore, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Turbidity and Suspended Solids (SS) were typically lowered to concentrations below the legal limit established in countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Portugal. Additionally, the system was able to extract nutrients from the wastewater inflow and to retain them in the permeate at 80% and 60% of the Nitrogen (once transformed to Nitrates) and Phosphorous, respectively. These results, combined with the continuing reduction of capital and operating costs for the T&R MBRs, suggest that they are an increasingly cost-effective technology for producing treated effluents suitable for water reuse in agriculture.
This study also suggests possible limitations regarding the fate of micro-pollutants during treatment. Nevertheless, the system works efficiently so long as the wastewater input meets the typical composition of raw municipal wastewater with minor contributions of industrial wastewater. This would imply low concentration of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) and Heavy Metals, as well as slight to moderate salinity (i.e. 0.7-3.0 dS/m). In spite of the fact that the T&R MBR technology can reduce the fresh water and fertilizer consumption of the agriculture sector, this system cannot be implemented in countries where the legislation restricts the reuse of effluents with significant concentrations of Nitrates and Phosphorous (e.g., Germany). Therefore, the present document suggests a set of technical criteria addressing the European challenges regarding water reuse in agriculture.
Citación recomendada (normas APA)
Andrés Camilo Acosta Peláez, "Technical Guidelines for Nutrient Recovery and Water Reuse in Agriculture and Industry by Analysis, Design and Operation of Treat & Reuse Membrane Bioreactors [MBR] in Europe", -:-, 2016. Consultado en línea en la Biblioteca Digital de Bogotá (https://www.bibliotecadigitaldebogota.gov.co/resources/2089159/), el día 2025-05-18.
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Technical Guidelines for Nutrient Recovery and Water Reuse in Agriculture and Industry by Analysis, Design and Operation of Treat & Reuse Membrane Bioreactors [MBR] in Europe
