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 as 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 project proposes different strategies for each of these 3 water forms, involving 6 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
Description: The project management WP is structured so that scientific and technical issues are managed separately from finance and administration. Management tasks are done by qualified personnel so that researchers can pay full attention to the RTD and innovative activities. The management team includes professionals with a depth of experience. This balanced composition promises a successful project and minimises development risks.
WP leader: TU DELFT
Work Packages Deliverables
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WP2 - Co-creation through social engagement for societal embedding
Description: The objective of this WP is to identify relevant stakeholders to create a group of people interested in the technologies developed (Community of Practice) for each case study (6). During the project the expectations and concerns of the stakeholders will be integrated during the early-stage of design and their moral values and perceptions of considered as indicators for the evaluation of the case studies form a social, economic and environmental point of view in a process of value-sensitive design. Also, this WP has the mission to engage end-users and citizens in experiencing and visualizing circular economy water technologies by demonstrating Living Labs outreach and augmented reality.
WP leader: UAB
WP3 - Demonstration of renewable desalination and sustainable brine management
Description: The WP3 aims to design specific methodologies for integrating a solar renewable energy source in the desalination processes often associated to high level of energy use. The methodologies will be tested and implemented in two Case studies (CS) in Europe: Lampedusa (Italy, CS1) and Almeria (Spain, CS2).
WP leader: TU DELFT
WP4- Demonstration of extraction/ valorisation of Kaumera Nereda Gum
Description: WP4 aims to optimize the Nereda® process, developed by TU Delft in the 90s with an improved extraction process in order to maximise resource recovery from the granular sludge generated during the process of treating wastewater. Specific installations will be implemented in order to test the new methodology in a cold region (Utrecht, NL, CS3a) and warm region (Faro, Portugal, CS3b). Also, the recovered material (Kaumera Nereda Gum) will be characterized and specific market applications will be identified during the project.
WP leader: TU DELFT
WP5 - Demonstration for phosphorus, water, salt and energy recovery from urban wastewater
Description: WP5 deals with the demonstration technical and economic feasibility of innovative methodologies for recovering important elements (phosphorus) and products (salts) from urban wastewater treatments together with the intention to reduce energy needs and achieve maximum water quality for water reuse for 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
Description: WP6 has the main objective to reduce the amount of fresh water and energy used in industrial wastewater treatments. In this sense, the repeated use of water and materials (chlorine, caustic, sodium) through closed-loop systems in industrial environment will lead to significant reduction on water, energy and resource consumption and will help demonstrating the concept of chemical leasing. The methodology will be tested in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and replicated in India.
WP leader: HEXION
WP7 - Development of ICT tools supporting process monitoring, control & optimization (DATA-MINING), immersive stakeholder engagement (AR-applications) & market creation
Description: One of the main objectives of WP7 is to develop and deploy a WATER-MINING Platform, available from the project website that will allow to link wastewater owners with the potential end-users of materials recovered from these wastewater streams. In addition, also several Augmented Reality applications and an optimized dashboard will be also developed to help in the stakeholder engagement and demonstration process.
WP leader: KWR
WP8 - Circularity and Sustainability evaluation of demo activities (WP3, WP4, WP5 and WP6)
Description: WP8 is responsible for the evaluating the sustainability of the WATER-MINING solutions and resource recovery technologies, taking into consideration technical, environmental, economic, social, and the regulatory aspects. In addition, this WP will create a set of indicators so the potential circularity models can be analysed and compared against conventional technologies.
WP leader: BRUNEL
WP9 - Market exploitation and Circular Economy Business Modelling
Description: This WP will explore the potential design of effective business models, promote new forms of collaboration between public and private actors to support the implementation of the WATER-MINING products and technologies in the market by developing an exploitation package to introduce WATER-MINING products in industrial settings.
WP leader: SEALEAU
WP10 - Advanced Policy Formulation, policy packaging & roadmap
Description: WP10 has the main responsibility to develop a ‘Policy Package’ including suggestions for policy makers and other stakeholders affected by these policy measures to facilitate the implementation of the project innovative and related business models based on the concept of a circular economy.
WP leader: JIIS
WP11 - Dissemination and communication activities
Description: WP11 will ensure a structured and coordinated communication, dissemination and exploitation strategy by developing an strategic communication plan, building the most appropriate communication channels and tools in order to effectively raise awareness on the water mining technologies and their benefits and foster interaction with and dissemination to the target audiences and enhance engagement with scientific, technical, non-technical, regulatory and public stakeholder.
WP leader: DECHEMA
Case Studies
Desalination / Sea-mining
Water as a resource: water demands need to be ensured by the public administration and alternative water resources are increasingly emerging as essential. In this context, desalination is expected to play a key role, especially in water-stressed regions.
Urban Mining
Water as a consumable: during the last century world population tripled and together with the higher levels of consumption and standard livings have meant the water demand has also increase substantially. Urban water consumption is just a small fraction of the total human water use but remains a potential alternative source of water.
Industrial Mining
Water as a durable: Durable goods are defined as the goods used for final consumption repeatedly over a period of more than one year. In this sense, the development of innovative technologies aiming to the multiple use of water in industries is seemed as a promising approach for the reduction of water demand from industrial sectors.
Living Labs
The WATER-MINING project aims at actively involve and engage stakeholders from the whole water value chain, with a particular emphasis in the agricultural, urban and industrial sectors. The creation of 2 Living Labs in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and Almeria (Spain) will offer an engagement environment around the different innovations demonstrated.
Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
Leader: FLOATING FARM
The Floating Farm is a small-scale innovative circular concept located in the port of Rotterdam (The Netherlands) addressing animal welfare, sustainable food production, changing landscape conditions and wastewater management in Rotterdam. The Floating Farm is aimed at local food production in a sustainable, circular and in terms of water and energy be as self-sufficient as possible.
The Floating Farm aims to produce and keep all the required energy and products inside the city and will experience with low energy usage water desalination from the river Meuse, urine-water purification to produce reusable water and recover nutrients from the brine to be used as fertilizer for plant production. The 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 innovation solutions.
Almeria (Spain)
Leader: CIEMAT
The Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA) is located in southern Spain and has become a reference in the use of solar energy for desalination processes. PSA is recognized as top large research infrastructure crucial for the development of top-quality cutting-edge research, as well as the communication, exchange, and preservation of knowledge, the transfer of technology, and promotion of innovation. In particular, PSA is devoted to the uses of solar thermal energy, both for concentrated solar power production and for desalination and water treatment and as a Living Lab will help with the engagement of stakeholders involved in the Water-Energy-Food nexus in specific events and reaching citizens with their regular program of visits.