Algae is the cure for saline wastewater
They are small but powerful, algae, photosynthetic organisms that are here to change the industry’s perception of wastewater.
The food and beverage industry produce huge amounts of wastewater every year, leading to additional production costs that companies seek to reduce. The Saltgae project aim at changing the way we look at wastewater, moving the focus from cost-reduction to appreciating it as a valuable resource using algae.
For this to happen, 20 partners from 9 countries (Belgium, France, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden) came together in 2016 to demonstrate, over the course of 36 months, that it was possible to implement and demonstrate how an innovative, sustainable and efficient solution for the treatment of high salinity wastewater was possible. To further raise the bar, it had to be achieved on a large scale.
The stars of the project are some small, but very important, little things called algae. They are the photosynthetic organisms that live in water and made this project possible. Let us introduce:
Spirulina
Dunaliella salina
Nannochloropsis
Tetraselmis
Three pilots have been carried out to put the technology and treatment capacity to the test.
- In Slovenia to handle tannery warehouse wastewater
- In Israel dealing with wastewater from Aquaculture (fish farming)
- In Italy taking care of wastewater from the dairy industry
The project is now in its final stage and the technical objectives that have been achieved so far already make it a success. The disruptive change it will bring the industry lies in the intelligent combination of the different technological modules in a way that adapts to the needs of the client’s problem. It, in turn, leads to the benefit of maximum return on the right investment.
For a more detailed summary of the project scope, technologies used and further information on the work performed at the test sites please consult the following SaltGae or the Saltgae homepage.
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