14 Jul WATER-MINING’s Almería study makes waves on Spanish TV
The WATER-MINING Project’s Case Study 2 at the Plataforma Solar de Almería in southern Spain has caught the attention of regional TV, which showcased some of the research taking place at the pilot project.
CS2 lead Patricia Palenzuela Ardila, project researcher with WATER-MINING partners CIEMAT, spoke to Canal Sur Almería’s Mabel Angulo Rodríguez, providing an insight into how the case study is testing how to harness solar power to fuel a desalination process that recovers valuable materials from the brine that is produced.
Palenzuela said the aim was “to be able to recover high added value elements present in the brine from the desalination process, such as lithium, cobalt and magnesium, which are becoming more and more scarce.”
She added: “Integrating solar power allows us to decarbonize the desalination sector. Currently, a lot of plants use fossil fuels, which produces quite a lot of CO2, and therefore contribute to global warming.”
Source: Canal Sur Almería
The WATER-MINING Project, which receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Programme, aims to face this challenge and help ensure access to clean water and sanitation by exploring alternative water sources and developing innovative solutions for sustainable water management, including tapping into urban and industrial wastewater and seawater desalination.