European Commission supports ACCIONA Agua’s BRAINYMEM technology

The European Commission (EC) has selected the BRAINYMEM (advanced-control MBR for wastewater reclamation) research project to be supported through its LIFE+ programme.

Led by ACCIONA Agua, the project has been selected for its potential to remove chemicals from treated wastewater.

Advanced-control MBR for wastewater reclamation technology from ACCIONA Agua reduces energy consumption of wastewater treatment plants with the application of an advanced control system.

It is claimed to cut down the energy consumption of a plant by 25%.

ACCIONA Agua will carry out the research work for the project at its pilot wastewater treatment plant in Almuñécar municipality in Granada, Spain.

The results from the pilot project could also be extended to its other plants, ACCIONA Agua said.

Its application is expected to improve elimination of ’emerging contaminants’ in treated wastewater.

ACCIONA has been researching emerging contaminants and endocrine disruptors through previous projects, such as HYDRA, SÍSIFO and NANOBAC.

HYDRA emphasised the application of combined technologies with biological membrane reactors and nanofiltration and/or inverse osmosis.

SÍSIFO involved the development of advanced oxidation photo-chemical technologies for water disinfection, while NANOBAC researched materials to be used as catalysts in photo-catalytic processes to degrade contaminants.

LIFE+ is the EU’s financial instrument to fund environmental, nature conservation and climate action projects in the region. Since 1992, the programme has supported around 4,171 projects.