DSWAP

This project adopts a circular economy approach, aiming for safe and sustainable valorization of wastewater for irrigation, with minimized ecological and agronomic impacts. The overall concept is to develop cost-effective modular, de-centralized wastewater treatment/irrigation systems coupled to decision support tools that enables coupling/decoupling of treatment modules for the removal of pathogens, CECs and salinity as a function of the wastewater source and measured quality parameters, to ensure optimal reused water quality for irrigation and long-term sustainability of irrigated soils. Individual modules within these networks (compiled based on specific requirements) will be coupled to alternative energy sources to reduce costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

The above concept will focus on seven wastewater treatment modules. Two novel decentralized secondary treatment modules, three energy-efficient advanced treatment modules specifically designed to remove microbial and chemical contaminants and two units designed to remove salinity. A key component of this project are the decision support tools for the application of post treatment desalination and pathogen intervention, which requires efficient data transfer, processing and harmonization from online and offline monitoring sources. The monitoring will rely on a comprehensive diagnostic toolbox, which will not only evaluate the quality of the effluents from individual and integrated modules, but also their impact on soil quality, ecosystem functioning and agronomic performance.