IWAPIL is a European co-operative research (COOR) project with a duration of 2 years and funded by the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission. The project aim is to develop and test an innovative membrane bioreactor (MBR) system intended for the use in remote communities, mountain hotels, campsites and other areas which have no access to centralised wastewater treatment plants. Compared to competing systems. the IWAPIL system will display some key advantages such as low-maintenance combined high treating efficiency and even effluent reuse for demanding applications. The new system is based on a newly developed membrane and membrane module which allows overcoming the problems of nowadays used MBR systems which are not practicable for decentralised use, where no skilled operator can be present. Basically, membrane bioreactor's comprise an activated sludge tank in which membrane filtration modules are immersed. The membranes allow the water to go through but keep the solids inside the bioreactor, reaching high biomass and pollutant concentrations and thus favouring biodegradation. In order to optimise the process, an air stream is continuously pumped in order to aerate the liquor, to help mix the biomass and to clean the membranes. Compared to SBR (Sequencing Batch Reactors, also adequate for similar applications), this system achieves higher degradation rates, lower sludge production, and total disinfection (in the case of ultrafiltration membranes) with a reduced footprint. However the common used MBR systems show some limitations/disadvantages due to clogging of membranes, high energy consumption and membrane breaking. The newly developed membrane modules consists of new capillary membranes provided with a tremendous mechanical strength and combined with an innovative membrane module design (single potted fibres and centralised aeration), leading to an increase of efficiency and a decrease of energy consumption and costs. The membrane module will make it possible to achieve a low-maintenance and extremely efficient wastewater system whose effluent can be even reused either for irrigation or toilet flushing purposes, as it is totally germ-free. The project will study the application of the new IWAPIL system at two different campsite areas, one located at the Garda Lake in Italy and the other one close to Granada, Spain.

Duration: 2004-2006

Budget: 844.821 €

Partners:

• INSTITUT FÜR ENERGIE- UND VERFAHRENSTECHNIK (Germany) - Coordinator
• PURON AG (Germany)
• TRIQUA BV (Netherlands)
• ZÜLLIG GMBH (Germany)
• RESTAURANTE LAS LOMAS S.A. (Spain)
• FORNELLA S.A.S. DI CAVAZZA E.C. (Italy)
• BIOAZUL S.L. (Spain)
• GEMEINSCHAFTSLABOR FÜR ELEKTRONENMIKROSKOPIE, HOCHSCHULE AACHEN (Germany)
• UNIVERSITY OF BRESCIA (Italy)

   

Main technical objectives of the IWAPIL project:

• to develop and test a new MBR based on an innovative membrane and membrane module able to compete in price with existing systems (reasonable energy consumption, low membrane replacement rate, reduced cleaning chemicals use) for decentralised use in camping sites and hotels or small communities in isolated locations.
• to achieve much more efficient depuration rates than existing decentralised plants, allowing to meet the most stringent current and future regulations, and even to reuse the water due to the total absence of pathogens.
• to achieve a highly automated system with minimum maintenance that does not require skilled operators.

• to dramatically improve the environmental performance of decentralised wastewater plants all over Europe.
• to allow the saving of important amounts of water through reuse, and to reduce the generation of sludge (waste).
• to benefit the European tourism sector in remote areas through the effective conservation of the water resources, thus maintaining or creating new employments
• to promote the creation of new employments in the European wastewater sector in order to produce and install the new decentralised MBR systems and their components.
• to promote the overall global competitiveness of the membrane sector for wastewater applications in Europe: it has to be mentioned that the proposed membrane system is the first totally European development in this field (the competing MBR systems are delivered by Canadian and Japanese companies).

Background:
Sustainable use of freshwater resources is a major topic in the whole world and also in Europe, as it is directly related to the quality of life of the citizens, and also has important economic repercussions. As the UNESCO’s World Water Development Report reminds, “Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment”. However, European water resources are nowadays under pressure arising from agriculture, industry, urban areas, households and tourism, with an increasing per capita consumption. This is especially true in the case of regions with scarce water resources, which also frequently combine agricultural production and tourism (e.g. Southern Europe). Due to the likely toughening of environmental legislation in the near future, many of the currently operating wastewater treatment systems will no longer be acceptable, and will have to significantly increase their efficiency. The Directive 2000/60/EC, establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, says that the Member States shall establish maximum annual averages for the release of certain pollutants, such as substances that have an unfavourable influence on oxygen balance. Stricter regulations can be found for especially sensitive areas and areas of abstraction of drinking water. In addition to chemical or organic pollutants, the presence of microbial pathogens is strictly controlled when it comes to bathing or drinking water Especially in the case of bathing waters, the Commission is in the process of preparing a new more stringent directive which puts special stress on microbiological parameters.
The problem of meeting existing and forecasted more stringent new regulations affects especially small communities, hotels, camping places, etc in more or less isolated or remote areas and without access to sophisticated centralised wastewater treatment plants. Moreover, in the case of tourist resorts, it is not unusual that the wastewater load is increased up to five times during holidays season, making it impossible for local treatment systems to maintain an acceptable organic removal. At the same time, these tourist locations frequently require to maintain a very high water quality in order to keep or increase the rate of visitors (especially in mountain lakes, coastal areas, etc). For example, a study showed that the French Coast of Opal would have had economic losses in the tourism sector between 300 M€ to 500 M€, if an investment of 150 M€ had not been made in the last years in order to ensure maintenance of the water quality.The traditional solution for decentralised wastewater systems was just to use cesspits or septic systems, but this is only acceptable under very defined conditions and limited wastewater loads, and cannot be considered a suitable solution on a broad basis against the new legislation and demands on water quality.
At this point these tourist locations in remote areas face the following dilemma: they are forced (both by legislation and by the nature of their business itself –clean nature) to make sure that their wastewater's are treated in such a way that high quality standards for the effluent are reached, but do not have access to sophisticated centralised systems. The problem also affects small communities, especially in the Eastern European countries which will soon join the EU, and where a large part of the settlements are small and with and with an inefficient wastewater system. Due to the integration in the EU, these communities will have to meet very soon the stringent EU environmental requirements.
Against this background, the IWAPIL system will make it possible to deliver a highly efficient, low-maintenance water purification system which will contribute to achieving the EU water purification objectives in isolated locations such as camping sites, mountain hotels and small municipalities.

Further information can be found on the project website www.iwapil.com.