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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - USEFUL WASTES (TECHNOLOGY FOR THE REUSE OF BRINES FROM REVERSE OSMOSIS)

Teaser

Summary

USEFUL WASTES is a new company that has developed an innovative technology that allows the complete reutilization of brines from reverse osmosis process in food industry, transforming this waste into different valuable by-products and eliminating the major problem that brine dumping poses on marine ecosystems.
Reverse osmosis is widely used to treat water in food industry due to the water quality requirements when it is used to clean, freeze or cook food, obtaining 75% of high-quality water and 25% of brine that is discarded.
With the aim of reducing this waste of water, USEFUL WASTES was founded in 2016, and its main strengths are:
- Improvement in water production, from the current 75% to 95-97%;
- Circular economy: the remaining 1% is transformed into different valuable by-products, such as bleach, salts or hydrogen gas;
- Bleach self-production: this product is massively used in different types of industry for cleaning and disinfection. Its production as a by-product will allow the company not only to reduce costs but also to not be dependent on bleach suppliers.

Work performed

During SMEI Phase 1, USEFUL WASTES has elaborated a detailed feasibility assessment focusing on the identification of the most profitable markets where this technology will be introduced and the strategy to follow in order to achieve a successful implementation.
Market main characteristics in different countries have been analysed, and six European countries have been identified as those to be targeted on a first stage before widening USEFUL WASTES scope to a global level.
A detailed business plan including the strategy to reach different targeted countries has been also elaborated, including information on main stakeholders, possible main clients and the specific steps to ensure project success.
The first prototype has been successfully tested and is currently being tested in an industrial environment. Feasibility study developed during SMEI Phase 1 project shows evidences that USEFUL WASTES can be world leader in the brineâ€™s management field.

Final results

USEFUL WASTES is a revolutionary technology that can be easily integrated in companies from different sectors which need to use reverse osmosis processes to obtain fresh water. Expected potential impacts of this technology can be summarized as follows:
Firstly, USEFUL WASTES will allow companies to increase their reverse osmosis water yield from current 75% to 95-97%, as well as to transform the remaining brines into valuable products widely used, such as bleach. The savings achieved due to the water yield increase and the self-production of products to be used onsite makes USEFUL WASTES an affordable and competitive technology to all type of clients.
On the other hand, USEFUL WASTES will have a great environmental impact, as it completely eliminates the problem that brine dumping from reverse osmosis process produces in the dumping areas, where the increase in the water salinity has serious consequences on marine ecosystems.