VIVALDI workshop on Industrial Wastewater Circularity

On the 16th of May 2024, it took place the VIVALDI workshop “Industrial Wastewater Circularity: Innovative Approaches to Bioelectrochemical Nutrient Recovery”.

Environmental engineering has evolved from removing pollutants from urban/industrial wastewater to new paradigms of circular economies that treat waste as a resource. In this sense, the benefits of recovering nutrients from wastewater are two-fold – avoiding their release into water bodies and providing the industry with valuable resources to produce products with market value – bringing about the development of innovative approaches, such as bioelectrochemical systems (BESs), for the chemical industry.

During the workshop, the three guest speakers Albert Guisasola Canudas (UAB), Pau Bosch (Leitat), and Annemiek Ter Heijne (WUR) analysed different approaches to recovering 3 nutrients that share a common feature, BESs. The topics discussed included:

• The three-chamber solution developed in the VIVALDI project to recover ammonium from high N-strength industrial wastewater as ammonium sulfate.
• Bioelectrochemical reactor to remove, recover and concentrate anions and cations from wastewater obtaining ions-concentrated streams.
• How electrodes can be used to harvest electrons from sulphide oxidizing bacteria, leading to the recovery of elemental sulfur.

Many thanks to the experts presenting their innovative approaches and the attendees who joined and discussed with us.