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Description
Innovation Systems and Circular Systems within the call area Food and natural resources. The consortium consists of seven partners, including five research institutions and two end-users (wastewater treatment plants) in Norway and Poland. The overall objective of the project, in line with the circular economy concept and sustainable development, is to integrate innovative processes into the traditionally operated municipal wastewater treatment systems to make a transition towards water resource recovery facilities. Specifically, innovative, cost-effective technologies will be developed with respect to the recovery of inherent resources, i.e. energy, nutrients and organic substances (humic acids) as well as generation of valuable products, i.e. hydrogen and biopolymers. As a result, it is expected to enhance the biogas production by >10% and harvest >80% of nutrients. The complex approach will be applied comprising laboratory tests (process understanding) and pilot tests at the two collaborating plants (proof of concept). The implementation potential will be evaluated with the advanced tools. A unique metagenomic model will be developed for the system control. Furthermore, the plant-wide computer model will incorporate the new evaluation criteria for the sustainability concept. The complex carbon footprint analysis and life cycle assessment will be carried out for different scenarios. To enhance market uptake potential of the products recovered, suitable applications will be identified and recovered products will be monitored for potential contamination. The main short-term outcomes of the project comprise the support of carriers of early stage researchers, joint publications and project applications. In the long-term perspective, results of the project will help in the transformation of wastewater treatment plants from the end-of-pipe philosophy towards a responsible natural resource management.
Summary of project results
The focus in the SIREN project was transition of municipal WWTPs using the conventional linear economy concept towards wastewater resource recovery facilities. The project contributed to the development of innovative, cost-effective technologies and systems for wastewater treatment, which are in line with the circular economy concept, sustainable in the long term perspective, widely applicable, while taking local conditions into consideration and resilient to various natural and social changes.
SIREN project made it possible to test a number of individual solutions which, after up-scaling, can be introduced into technical scale systems in the future, along with advanced tools for their monitoring and control using molecular biology techniques, computer simulation and the impact on the environment - LCA as well as evaluation of recovered resources.
The main results of the proposed and tested technological solutions bring a significant innovation potential. Separating the methanogenesis step in the TPAD allows to build a carboxylate platform from which variety of other products could be generated. A new low severity pretreatment has been investigated in order to open-up the complex structure of waste activated sludge and allow for biopolymers recovery as well as enhanced biogas production. The HS recovery from reject water using adsorbents opens the possibility to use HS as a fertilising product. Two integrated N&P recovery systems were successfully investigated: a novel combination of hydroxyapatite precipitation and ammonia stripping and the reference solution of struvite precipitation and recovery. With the gel entrapped MEC system a more efficient and stable H2 production was achieved. Recovery of the organic and nutrient compounds from the influent and process liquids will drastically reduce the loss of organic matter and the consumption of energy for aerated biological processes. Development of the monitoring protocol for the integrated system based on metagenomic analyses may be introduced to WWTP operation practice as a powerful tool for the process control. Evaluation of the impact of actual and novel WWTP configurations was the subject of computer simulations and LCA. A special attention was paid to greenhouse gas emissions from biological reactors of the activated sludge system. For this purpose, an extension of the ASM2d model was developed to include issues related to the formation and emission of N2O.
Summary of bilateral results
The project was designed in such way that results were generated jointly in many cases. Thus the results were jointly discussed, hence improving understanding and leading to further bilateral collaborations: joint publications, students exchange, joint proposals, etc. The Partners have a strong motivation for further collaboration through new project applications, visits, internships etc.