As part of the Horizon 2020 Water Mining research programme, a pilot unit is operating at the Larnaca Wastewater Treatment Plant, which involves the desalination of recycled water in order to improve the quality of the water already produced by the plant by removing sodium chloride, phosphorus and calcium and magnesium salts.
A written statement from the Larnaca Sewerage Board (LSC) said that "the sufficiency of fresh water, combined with the environmental, energy and economic issues with which it is associated, is one of the challenges facing the global community today. According to the latest studies, the demand for fresh water in 2030 will be greater than what can be extracted from the world's fresh water sources."
It is added that "the purpose of the Water Mining project is to address this challenge by highlighting 'new sources' of fresh water such as industrial and municipal wastewater or brines resulting from desalination plants."
It is added that "the aim of the Water Mining project is to address this challenge by highlighting 'new sources' of fresh water such as industrial and municipal wastewater or brines resulting from desalination plants. All these systems are based on the principles of the circular economy and zero discharge, which requires the partners to extract from these source wastewater not only water but also other valuable raw materials such as salts, metals and biopolymers, which they contain".
It is noted that "the pilot plant, which has been installed and is operating at the Larnaca Wastewater Treatment Plant, aims to improve the quality of the water already produced by the plant by removing sodium chloride, phosphorus and calcium and magnesium salts. The water produced by the Larnaca Wastewater Treatment Plant is of sufficiently high quality, which allows it to be used for the irrigation of specific crops."
Main objective of the project in the case of Larnaca, the communication states "is the removal of the sodium chloride content in order to make the produced water suitable for the irrigation of even sensitive crops, to avoid the accumulation of salts in arable soils, to protect the quality of groundwater and to avoid the installation of a brine discharge pipeline to the sea".
This water treatment "will produce sodium chloride and phosphorus in addition to fresh water. These two products will be of suitable specifications so that the sodium chloride can be absorbed and used mainly by water chlorination plants and the phosphorus as a raw material for fertilisers."
Another of the main objectives of the project, "apart from demonstrating the operation of these integrated systems, is the dissemination of the systems and their results on the market. C'` and through specific actions the results of the project will be regularly communicated to stakeholders such as agricultural associations, Government Departments-Ministries, Water Development Department, Wastewater Treatment Plants, Municipalities and other end-users identified through the project".
The SAL's announcement also states that "through the creation of Communities of Practice, the exchange of views, the development of ideas and consequently the proposal of new solutions related to the wastewater treatment process and the problems that may arise, the promotion of the products produced in the market, the raising of public awareness on water use issues, etc.In addition, "through these communities and continuous feedback, a new water management system is sought to be proposed and adopted, based not only on the principles of the circular economy."
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