The EU-funded Zero Brine project, which aims to reduce industrial saline wastewater streams by recovering and reusing minerals and metals from wastewater, has begun its first pilot phase in Rotterdam port, one of the largest petrochemical clusters in Europe.
Circular industrial processes are essential to develop a sustainable, low carbon, resource efficient economy in the EU. Recovering all resources from wastewater enhances the preservation of resources and security of supply.
Demineralised water is an essential commodity required for many industrial processing facilities in Rotterdam port. This water is provided by the Evides DWP, one of the largest demineralised production facilities in Europe. The current technology uses ion-exchange softening combined with reverse osmosis (RO), along with other technologies.
The Rotterdam port technologies have been provided by project consortium members including the Dutch water treatment company Lenntech (nanofiltration), the National Technical University of Athens (evaporator) and the University of Palermo (crystallizer). The technologies have been developed and tested both in laboratory and at bench-scale, as well as on an individual basis over the past year at industrial pilot-scale. The pilot is being coordinated by the Delft University of Technology.
