Conceptual development of innovative membrane configurations with maximal energy efficiency and water reuse capacity

Within industry the overall efficiency has become a point of particular interest influenced by the growth in resource scarcity and the increasing energy cost. Within this context, industrial water management (water use, wastewater treatment, water reuse, …) has become an important field where there is still considerable room for improvement. Because of the limited applicability of anaerobic water treatment the majority of the current wastewater treatment plants apply aerobic water purification. Although these plants can operate under very energy efficient conditions, an increase in the implementation of anaerobic water treatment represents an enormous potential in energy savings. The average anaerobic plant consumes three to four times less energy than the most energy efficient aerobic treatment plant. Moreover, the biogas produced during anaerobic treatment can be converted into electricity and/or heat. Last but not least the anaerobic treatment is a more compact installation resulting in less building materials and a lower overall carbon footprint. Besides the improvement of the overall energy efficiency of water treatment installations, this project simultaneously aims to increase the reuse of wastewater. Two new wastewater treatment concepts using membrane technology will be developed to realize these goals.

Keywords:membrane technology, energy saving, Wastewater treatment, anaerobic water treatment

Disciplines:Analytical chemistry, Macromolecular and materials chemistry