Water is a natural starting point for creating a more circular economy. Water is the single most important shared resource across all supply chains, and can be considered a natural resource, a consumable good, and a durable good. Each of these three forms involve different stakeholders, business models, infrastructure, services and policies, and are subject to different barriers and drivers.
To capture the full potential of the circular water economy, WATER-MINING proposes strategies for each of these three water forms, involving six sector-specific case studies (CS). The aim is to benchmark, refine and establish commercial implementation routes for the proposed approaches and technologies. The proposed strategies are carefully designed to reflect the different needs of water users, as follows:
Work Packages
WP1 - Project Management
The project management work package ensures that scientific and technical issues are managed separately from finance and administration. Management tasks are done by qualified personnel, allowing the project’s researchers to focus solely on the RTD and innovative activities. The management team’s variety of experienced professionals ensures the project’s success and minimises development risks.
WP leader: TU DELFT
Work Packages Deliverables
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WP2 - Co-creation through social engagement for societal embedding
The objective of this work package is to identify relevant stakeholders interested in the technologies developed for each case study. Over the course of the project, the expectations and concerns of these stakeholders will be integrated during the early-stage of design, and their moral values and perceptions will be considered as indicators for the evaluation of the case studies from a social, economic and environmental perspective through a process of value-sensitive design. This work package also engages end-users and citizens in experiencing and visualising circular economy water technologies by demonstrating living labs outreach and augmented reality.
WP leader: UAB
WP3 - Demonstration of sustainable water & minerals recovery from seawater desalination
This work package designs methodologies for integrating solar renewable energy sources into the desalination process, which is often associated with high energy use. The methodologies will be tested and implemented in two case studies in Europe: Lampedusa (Italy, CS1) and Almeria (Spain, CS2).
WP leader: TU DELFT
WP4- Demonstration of extraction/ valorisation of Kaumera Nereda Gum
This work package aims to optimise the Nereda® process. The process was developed by TU Delft in the 90s with an improved extraction process to maximise resource recovery from the granular sludge generated by wastewater treatment. This work package’s team will establish installations to test this new methodology in both a cold climate (Utrecht, NL, CS3a) and a warm climate (Faro, Portugal, CS3b). Furthermore, the recovered material (Kaumera Nereda Gum) will be characterised, and specific market applications will be identified.
WP leader: TU DELFT
WP5 - Demonstration for phosphorus, water, and energy recovery from urban wastewater
This work package focuses on demonstrating the technical and economic feasibility of innovative methodologies for recovering important elements (phosphorus) and products (salts) from urban wastewater treatment, as well as the intention to reduce energy needs and maximise water quality for reuse in industrial and/or agricultural applications. These methodologies will be tested in in two case studies in Larnaca (Cyprus, CS4) and La Llagosta (Spain, CS5).
WP leader: EURECAT
WP6 - Demonstration for closed-loop water recovery in the industrial sector
This work package works to reduce the amount of fresh water and energy used in industrial wastewater treatments. The WP6 team works to demonstrate that the repeated use of water and materials (chlorine, caustic, sodium) through closed-loop systems in the industrial environment leads to a significant reduction in water, energy and resource consumption, and to exemplify the concept of chemical leasing. The methodology will be tested in Rotterdam (the Netherlands), and will be replicated in India.
WP leader: HEXION
WP7 - Development of ICT tools for process optimisation and control and Augmented Reality (AR)
The objectives of this work package is to develop and implement a WATER-MINING Platform – which will be available on the project website – to link wastewater owners with potential end-users of the materials recovered from these wastewater streams. In addition, several augmented reality applications and an optimised dashboard will be developed to support the stakeholder engagement and demonstration processes.
WP leader: KWR
WP8 – Evaluation of demonstration activities implemented in WP3, WP4, WP5 and WP6
WP8 evaluates the sustainability of the solutions and desource recovery technologies identified by WATER-MINING, taking into consideration technical, environmental, economic, social, and regulatory variables. This WP will also create a set of indicators to compare the project’s circularity models to conventional technologies.
WP leader: BRUNEL
WP9 - Market exploitation and CE business model
This work package explores effective business models, promoting new forms of collaboration between public and private actors for the implementation of WATER-MINING’s products and technologies through an exploitation package to introduce WATER-MINING’s products into industrial settings.
WP leader: SEALEAU
WP10 - Advanced Policy Formulation, policy packaging & roadmap
This work package is responsible for the development of a ‘policy package’ that includes recommendations for policymakers and other stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of the project’s innovative solutions and related business models.
WP leader: JIIS
WP11 - Dissemination and communication activities
This work package ensures a structured and coordinated communication, dissemination and exploitation strategy, building WATER-MINING’s presence on the most appropriate communication channels to raise awareness about the project’s technologies and their benefits, whilst fostering interaction with the project’s target audiences and engaging with scientific, technical, non-technical, regulatory and public stakeholders.
WP leader: DECHEMA
Case Studies
Desalination/Sea-mining
Water as a resource: water demands need to be met by the public administration, and the need for alternative water sources is increasingly recognised. Seawater desalination is expected to play a key role, especially in water-stressed regions.
Urban Mining
Water as a consumable: Over the course of the 20th century, the world population tripled, and together with the increased levels of consumption and living standards, water demand has substantially increased. Urban water consumption is just a small fraction of the total human water use, but it remains an important potential alternative water source.
Industrial Mining
Water as a durable: Durable goods are defined as goods used for final consumption repeatedly over a period of more than one year. The development of innovative technologies is seen as an opportunity for reducing water demand in industrial sectors.
Living Labs
WATER-MINING aims to actively involve and engage with stakeholders from across the water value chain, with a particular emphasis on the agricultural, urban and industrial sectors. The creation of two living labs in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) and Almeria (Spain) will offer an engaging environment around the different innovations demonstrated.
Rotterdam (the Netherlands)
Leader: Floating Farm
The Floating Farm is a small-scale innovative circular farm located in the port of Rotterdam, addressing animal welfare, sustainable food production, changing landscape conditions and wastewater management. The Floating Farm produces local food based on sustainable and circular principles, aiming for self-sufficiency in water and energy consumption.
The Floating Farm produces its required energy and products inside the city, and will experiment with low-energy water desalination from the river Meuse, as well as urine-water purification to produce reusable water and recover nutrients to be used as fertilizer. Floating Farm has a high public profile and attracts many citizens and local stakeholders to its activities, which engage in value exploration, behavioural reflection, and innovative solutions.
Almeria (Spain)
Leader: CIEMAT
The Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA) is located in southern Spain and has become a point of reference in the use of solar energy for desalination. PSA’s infrastructure is contributes to the development of top-quality cutting-edge research, as well as the communication, exchange, and preservation of knowledge, technology transfer, and the promotion of innovation. In particular, PSA focuses on the use of solar thermal energy, both for concentrated solar power production and desalination, and as a WATER-MINING living lab it will support the engagement of stakeholders involved in the water-energy-food nexus through specific events and their regular programme of visits.