Report
Teaser, summary, work performed and final results
Periodic Reporting for period 1 - RUN4LIFE (RECOVERY AND UTILIZATION OF NUTRIENTS 4 LOW IMPACT FERTILIZER)
Teaser
As global population grows, demand for food increases, leading to a significant increase in fertilisers demand and forcing a change in current fertilisation practises towards an efficient nutrient recovery and recycling approach. Wastewater (WW) is an important carrier of...
Summary
As global population grows, demand for food increases, leading to a significant increase in fertilisers demand and forcing a change in current fertilisation practises towards an efficient nutrient recovery and recycling approach.
Wastewater (WW) is an important carrier of nutrients and a resource itself. Domestic WW is currently not exploited as a nutrient resource due to inefficient recovery from diluted sewage.
Within a circular economy approach, Run4Life proposes a radical new technological concept for WW treatment and nutrient recovery: i) decentralized recovery at the source; ii) segregated black water (BW), grey water (GW) and organic kitchen waste (KW) allows an optimal treatment for resource recovery and safe reuse; iii) innovative nutrient recovery technologies, integrated with complementary fertiliser concepts to reduce environmental and health risks.
By demonstrating technical feasibility at 4 demonstration sites, Run4Life main objectives are:
1. Improve innovative technologies for nutrient recovery beyond TRL 5-7 to increase recovery rates and enhance material quality, decreasing environmental impact and health risks.
2. Large scale demonstration of nutrient recycling and irrigation water with added value.
3. Implement a value chain for the recovered nutrients and water (reuse rate above 90%), including new Business Models for boosting Run4Life into the market.
4. Promote full acceptance of recycled products by undertaking interactions with stakeholders at all levels and reviewing legal framework.
5. Use Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Technical Verification, risk assessment and Benefit Cost Analysis to evaluate Run4Life impacts on the environment, society and economy, while ensuring the safety and sustainability of the proposed solutions and products.
Work performed
Run4Life activities are divided into 8 interlinked work packages (WP):
WP1 – Project Management
WP2 – Innovations for Efficient Nutrient Recovery
The objective is the upgrading of innovative technologies, pursuing further integration at the Demo Sites.
• New model of Ultra Low Dual Flush Vacuum Toilets, featuring both a saving flush and a normal flush for increasing BW concentration.
• Hyper-Thermophilic Anaerobic Digester (HTAD) designed to recover, in a 1-step process, safe solid and liquid fertiliser (NPK) from concentrated BW. Different tests (batch and reactor scale) are being carried out to optimise the concept.
• Innovative configuration of electrochemical systems for N recovery from BW.
WP3 – Large Scale Demonstration: testing, optimisation and validation
Sneek (The Netherlands): designed for 32 homes, integrates the newly developed vacuum toilets and HTAD by treating ultra-concentrated BW, to obtain safe solid and liquid NPK fertiliser.
Vigo (Spain): operates in an office building with conventional toilets, treating segregated streams of BW and GW by means of anaerobic and aerobic MBR respectively. Further treatment for N recovery will be implemented.
Ghent (Belgium) and Helsingborg (Sweden) demo sites, designed respectively for 120 and 320 homes, are under construction with operations foreseen in 2020.
Characterisation of the wastewater in the different demo sites in operation is being performed, taking into account chemical and biological parameters, and also emerging micropollutants of special relevance. A modular approach was selected for the Process Simulation activities.
WP4 – End-users perspective: quality and safety requirements
WP4 aims to prove the quality and safety of the fertilisers and reclaimed water from the 4 demo plants, so that they can be employed as commercial resources in a circular economy, considering the end-user acceptance.
Activities of WP4 during this period are related to the compilation of the different fertilisers and water reuse requirements. They cover different aspects of the fertilisers’ value chain. Identification of KPIs has been continuously updated during the project.
WP5 – Risk and Life Cycle Assessments
A Sustainability Management Roadmap and Guide was developed, describing and defining different assessment criteria, environmental and socio-economic indicators, as well as environmental and health risks. A first environmental and economic approach of the different demonstration sites was initiated.
WP6 – Strategic Organisational and Social Innovation
A map of the partners and stakeholders at each of the demonstration sites was performed, with the aim of developing the social, institutional, legal and technological features of the Run4Life technologies, as well as achieving wide acceptance among final consumers, end-users, public authorities and political bodies.
WP7 – Exploitation and Market Uptake
The design and implementation of the Run4Life Knowledge Management Strategy was done and the Market Study was launched. A literature review of decentralised wastewater treatment systems and technologies has begun in order to complete the Competitor Analysis. A draft of the Exploitation and Business Plan has started.
WP8 – Communication and Dissemination for Social and Market acceptance
WP8 aims to influence the attitudes of stakeholders, including the decision-makers, towards the implementation of resource recovery oriented sanitation solutions.
A communication and dissemination (C&D) plan was created, including a common strategy towards stakeholder engagement. Linkages and collaborations with other relevant projects and initiatives have been pursued. The project is actively present on different channels, showing the project objectives, technical concept, demo site characteristics and consortium partners.
The consortium partners carried on the project actions in compliance with ethical principles (as set out in the European Code of Conduct for Resea
Final results
Run4Life will advance the current concept of Circular Economy by potentially recycling up to 100% of the nutrients present in household WW and organic KW (N, P, K and micronutrients), also recovering > 90% of GW as reclaimed water. This avoids inefficient conventional removal and disposal of nutrients and water associated to linear systems, as current end-of-pipe approaches can only reach a very partial recovery (< 5% and < 50% for N and P, respectively). Whereas first separate collection systems for urban household KW and WWs have been implemented, products are currently not being reused, mainly because hygienic and environmental safety of these products is not yet assured, and no clear market structure exists - prohibiting their reuse according to current legislation and leading to poor social acceptance. However, new EU politics on Circular Economy, Water Reuse and Nutrient Recovery are forcing a change aimed at increasing the efficiency and minimising wastes and environmental impact.
Run4Life will response to the following requirements: i) integrating nutrient recovery in the water sector; ii) producing hygienically safe products (fertilisers and reclaimed water) for reuse in agriculture/industry/toilets; iii) online monitoring and processes simulation; and iv) making the strategy cost competitive and close to market by including LCA, a new business model and prospective end-users’ participation, among others. In this way, nutrient recovery processes can be tailored to specific local priorities and will be slightly varied to adapt Run4Life to local conditions and requirements.
Website & more info
More info: http://run4life-project.eu/.