E37
ENEA Technology
INNOVATIVE SUSTAINABLE WAYS AND SYSTEMS FOR DRINKING WATER SAVING IN THE CIVIL SECTOR AND OPTIMIZATION OF GRAY WATERS USE
Technology Readiness Level (TRL)
5÷8
Innovations and Benefits
The main objective proposed is to contribute to sustainable water savings in the sectors of use (particularly the civil sector without excluding the agricultural, industrial and energy sectors) for the reduction of waste and the reuse of water by technological systems that adopt innovative process methods.
Studies are carried out on demonstration projects at national and international levels with the aim of promoting experimental tests of innovative technologies; in particular, with regard to the civil sector, studies and applications regarding water saving are examined by the use of alternative types of water in: homes, offices, schools, service areas, campsites.
Use
Concerning the use of gray water, components of applied innovative technologies (to be optimized) include systems that adopt treatments (filtration, biodegradation, disinfection) to avoid risks for human health coming from undesired products (suspended solids, bacteria, organic products, etc.):
a) membrane [Membrane BioReactors (MBRs)]
b) discontinuous [Sequencing Batch Reactors (SBRs)]
c) rotating disk [Rotating Biological Contactors (RBCs)]
d) reed beds;
related topics of interest are:
i) biogas production (energy) through fecal biodegradation
ii) use of the nitrogen contained in the urine as fertilizer for agricultural uses (gardening)
iii) recovery of heat (energy) from hot water coming from houses (showers).
Applications and ongoing Activities
Research activities are carried out with the aim of optimizing these systems both technically and economically and improving the relative regulations; among the others, strategic activities are carried out aimed in particular at experimenting systems with medium and large capacity (from about 200 to 2000 people).
“If you are interested in this technology/service, please send a message to eneaperlinnovazione@enea.it, by specifying the title of the technology/service of your interest, the reason for your request and your contacts or the contacts of a person from your organization/company.
