We are FCC - Nº7

to transform wastewater from ur- ban agglomerations into an energy source (biomethane) and valuable products such as bioplastics and biofertilizers, while obtaining qua- lity water for reuse in irrigation of agriculture, urbanizations and golf courses, and all from algae-growing photobioreactors. The mayor of Almeria was very pleased that these two projects are being developed in his city: “Almeria is at the forefront of efficiency in wa- ter management and these two R & D projects do nothing but add in this sense and bring us closer to sustai- nable management of this resource and thereby close the line of the cir- cular economy. Aqualia Researchers The Aqualia researchers responsi- ble for these two projects, Zouhayr Arbib, Enrique Lara and Raúl Cano, organised a guided tour for both councillors together with the mana- ger of Almería, José V. Colomina, and the director of the Service, José Antonio Otero. During the tour they were able to see the different technologies and systems implemented within a cir- cuit in which each phase through which the wastewater passes fulfi- ls a mission: Wastewater treatment (Incover). Production of biofertilizers (Biosol). Reuse of wastewater for irrigation (Incover). Lagoon of 3,000 m 2 For the first step of the Incover pro- ject, a 3,000 m2 lagoon has been built, called a raceway, where mi- croalgae are grown on an industrial scale and wastewater treatment is carried out thanks to the algae-bac- teria symbiosis. This system, in ad- dition to the high efficiency in the elimination of contaminants, repre- sents a saving of 50% in energy and operating costs with respect to conventional treatment plants, due to the contribution of oxygen from the algae. Next, in the Biosol project, algae ex- tracted from the lagoon are harves- ted, separating them from the water treated in the lagoon. After dehy- drating the algae obtained, this de- monstration plant aims to produce a quality algal biofertilizer that gives added value to what would traditio- nally be managed as waste. “This process completely changes the paradigm of purification, as it converts conventional purification plants, which are large generators of sludge and waste, into factories that produce valuable resources” - the Aqualia researchers pointed out. In the next phase, the water is sub- jected to a system of wetlands (or green filters) and solar disinfection that does not require external con- sumption of energy or chemical re- agents, constituting a substantial change with respect to the conven- tional treatment carried out in the treatment plants. Thanks to this disinfection, the re- sulting water can be reused in agri- culture, and the irrigation of golf courses and urban developments. In order to be able to reuse water for irrigation, however, companies and local councils must first remove nu- trients from treated water, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. To achie- ve this, the last phase the project has the aforementioned method of green filters, which is nothing more than a system of vertical wetlands with research carried out on diffe- rent types of plants, so as to opti- mize the recovery of these nutrients from wastewater. The plants act as a natural filter, absorbing the nu- The mayor of Almeria, on the right, commented that “the city is at the forefront of efficiency in water management. I N N O V A T I O N 39 I N N O V A T I O N