SWAM@ASC

This project aims to ensure the circularity of water used by SMEs through :

(1) optimizing the recovery of recoverable materials from effluents,

(2) conditioning of by-products for recovery purposes, and

(3) the LCA and water footprint of treatment/recovery processes. In this sense, it is fully complementary to the CEBEDEAU-led project on wastewater treatment lines and facility management “Circularité-Eaux-PME” in the same SwaM@ASC portfolio.

The project is focused on agri-food SMEs, but the deliverables could be applied to all SMEs, and also to water treatment in small communities for the technical aspect (agglomerations of less than 2,000 PE, +/- 400 plants to be built) or to institutions (retirement homes, care homes, etc.). 

In this context, two ULiège groups belonging to the Chemical Engineering Research Unit are involved: NCE (Prof. Stéphanie LAMBERT) and PEPs (Prof. Angélique LEONARD).

On the NCE side, the aim is to develop a simple, low-cost technology that maximizes the removal of particulate organic pollution - and a fraction of soluble and even inorganic and bacterial pollutants. To achieve this, an electrocoagualation cell will be developed to treat about 8 liters of agro-food waste waters each 30 minutes. Electrolytic techniques are particularly attractive for their non-polluting nature and ease of automation. The in-situ production of coagulant (Fe2+/Fe3+ or AI3+) by anodic dissolution during electrocoagulation should enable more efficient recovery of valuable materials from small and medium-sized agri-food businesses.

With regard to PEPs, two aspects are targeted: on the one hand, a study linked to the conditioning, dehydration or drying of by-products using low-energy consumption techniques, and on the other, the characterization of water treatment processes via life-cycle analysis.