- The guide is based on the results and conclusions obtained from the research and knowledge transfer developed in collaboration between CT BETA and industries of the agri-food sector and farms.
- It aims to demonstrate the technical feasibility of applying different advanced treatment technologies to obtain high quality reclaimed water.
- It is expected that this guide will be useful to advance towards a regulatory change that promotes the use of reused water from the treatment of livestock manure and wastewater from the meat industry.
Given the desire to move towards a circular economy model and to substantially reduce their water consumption, both livestock farms and the meat sector itself are beginning to consider the challenge of recovering and reusing water in their production processes. Therefore, the CT BETA of the UVic-UCC has developed an advisory guide that demonstrates the technical feasibility of applying different advanced treatment technologies to obtain high quality recovered water. This guide is based on the results and conclusions obtained from the research projects developed between the centre and the industries of the sector.
The use of advanced technologies for the treatment of effluents from the agri-food industry and pig farms makes it possible to obtain reusable water of a quality comparable to the current regulations on the reuse of reclaimed water.
Membrane technologies, such as reverse osmosis, are highly efficient in the recovery of water, regardless of the origin of the effluent, whether it is liquid fraction of purified, digested or wastewater from decanters, and ensure the necessary quality for industrial, livestock and agricultural uses. This technology is based on the filtration of the effluent to be treated by means of membranes that act as a filter, allowing some components to pass through and retaining others.
The disinfection processes are very effective in eliminating pathogens in the waste effluents from branch and drainage plants, thus guaranteeing microbiological safety in the reuse of reclaimed water. The aim of these processes is to eliminate micro-organisms such as viruses, bacteria and fungi that have not been eliminated in the conventional processes of wastewater treatment plants. The disinfection processes by means of ozone and UV radiation are the most widely implemented strategies for the sanitisation of liquid effluents from the livestock or agro-industrial sector.
For new installations in the meat industry, it is recommended to design wastewater treatment plants with advanced technologies, such as the possible installation of membrane bioreactors, which separate solids from the water by means of filtration membranes, in order to obtain high quality water. In existing installations, membrane-based post-treatment systems are preferable, as they make it possible to reduce suspended solids, terbose and pathogens in a single stage and to achieve the water quality standards required by current regulations. In pig farms, a good selection of pre-treatments is essential to guarantee the efficiency of the advanced technologies implemented to recover water from pig waste.
It is envisaged that this guide will be useful in advancing towards a regulatory change that will enhance the use of reused water from the treatment of farm wastewater and wastewater from the dairy industry. The aim is to demonstrate that advanced treatment technologies can achieve a water quality comparable to that required for the reuse of treated water from non-urban sources. Reusing reclaimed water is an opportunity to reduce dependence on traditional water resources by reserving them for uses that require drinking water. Given the current drought that began four years ago, this would be a way of finding alternative water resources.
The elaboration of this guide has been financed through the Technological Transfer Operation 01.02.01 of the Rural Development Programme of Catalonia 2014-2020.
