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Demi Water Pilot Plant
The ZERO BRINE demi water pilot in the Netherlands is set to begin full scale trials this month. The preliminary techno-economic evaluation of the pilot has found that although full-scale operation to meet the specified targets requires high capital investment, a return on initial investment would take around 10 years due to savings on environmental costs and internal and external valorization of end-products.
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Silica Pilot Plant
The ZERO BRINE silica pilot in Spain, after a year of testing, shows 75% water recovery suitable for reuse in the silica production process. Using regenerated membranes allows higher water recovery and reduces energy compared to commercial RO membranes. A preliminary cost analysis shows the technology is economically feasible and implementable at industrial scale. Final technical and economic viability will be determined after results from crystallization stage.
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Coal Mine Pilot Plant
The ZERO BRINE coal mine pilot in Poland is well underway, with preliminary results even more promising than expected in terms of energy savings. The impact of recovering salt and other valuable resources is a possible solution to the environmental problems of brine releases which have increased the salinity of Polish rivers, causing economic losses of $100-250 million annually.
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Textile Pilot Plant
The ZERO BRINE textile pilot in Turkey is due to be completed by the end of 2019, for the recovery of salt from the concentrated stream originating from the reverse osmosis unit of the Zorlu Textile factory. The pilot will have a capacity of 2-4 m3/day, consisting of pre-treatment (oxidation and nanofiltration), concentration processes (reverse osmosis) and ion exchange system (cationic). The recovered salt stream will be reused in the dyeing process within the textile plant.
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Your match awaits…
Is your company a brine producer, mineral user or technology provider?
Are you interested in brine stream valorization?
Register to the Online Brine Platform and join the 50+ companies seeking circular business opportunities!
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ZERO BRINE Means Business
A series of matchmaking workshops kicked-off in July to take place at industrial clusters in the Netherlands to facilitate re-use and brine stream valorization, matching brine producers with users of regenerated minerals. Past locations include Terneuzen and Delfzijl, with upcoming locations to include a Brightlands Edition, Rotterdam Edition, and an Amsterdam Edition at Amsterdam International Water Week. For all upcoming dates, visit our event page.
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ZERO BRINE Field Visits
Two field visits to the pilot demonstrations were held, to the industrial Botlek area in the Netherlands to see the demineralized water pilot and the Bolesław Śmiały coal mine in Poland. For all resources including factsheets and photos, see our Media Kits. A field visit to the textile pilot in Turkey will be organized in 2020.
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ZERO BRINE in Action
The first mission for water and sediment sampling, organized through WP9, took place on 16-18 September 2019. A small tender of the Port of Rotterdam was used for the sampling of water and sediment around the brine impacted area. More photos available here.
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Talking ZERO BRINE
See us at these upcoming events!
Water Knowledge Europe I 30-31 October 2019, Brussels
ZERO BRINE Matchmaking Workshop at AIWW I 5 November 2019, Amsterdam
Aquatech Amsterdam I 5-8 November 2019, Amsterdam
European Water Innovation Conference I 11-13 December 2019, Zaragoza
ZERO BRINE Workshop at EUWIC I 11 December 2019, Zaragoza
World Future Energy Summit – Water Expo I 13-16 January 2020, Abu Dhabi
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In the Press
ZERO BRINE’s Online Brine Platform, matchmaking workshops, pilot plants, and organized field visits have been covered in a variety of digital and print media around Europe and beyond. Visit our In the Press section to stay up-to-date on the latest coverage.
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Technology Highlight – What is ‘CrIEM’?
UNIPA’s patented, novel Crystallizer with Ion Exchange Membrane (CrIEM) is behind the recovery of magnesium from brines, including coalmine wastewater. The technology allows crystallisation reactions avoiding the direct contact between reacting solutions, thanks to an ion exchange membrane separating them. The selective membrane induces the passage of the sole reactant (OH-) to the brine stream, rejecting all the other species present in the reactant solution. The main advantage is the possibility to use cheap and low purity reagents without affecting the final quality of the desired product, which can achieve, in the case of magnesium hydroxide production, purities above 98%.
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ABOUT ZERO BRINE
The ZERO BRINE project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N° 730390.