ICRA Projects

In 2020, the Council of the European Union proposed a new regulation to reduce the risks of water shortages by improving the availability of water and encourage its efficient reuse in agriculture (EU 2020/741). Decentralized water reuse systems and source separation can provide reclaimed water close to the point where wastewater is generated. In this context, nature-based solutions (NBS) may help to protect and restore natural, modified, and urban ecosystems and provide benefits and address societal challenges while treating contaminated water sources. Crop production, moreover, can recover nutrients and foster circular economy concepts. Decentralized NBS (e.g., urban farming and constructed wetlands) and source separation, for example, applied to greywater, may be very helpful although information is generally largely lacking for this water source compared to other wastewater types. On the other hand, organic micropollutants have risen environmental concern due to their continuous presence and introduction in the water cycle, and their toxicity, at times even at low concentrations in wastewater or greywater. Microplastics, additionally, are recognized as an emerging environment and human health risk. In this context, the aim of the ReUseMP3 project is to explore the feasibility of using NBS such as hydroponic systems - which integrates the efficient purification of several water sources with direct reuse purposes- including food production in cities in a more sustainable way. A range of analytical methodologies including target analysis of known emerging pollutants but also a wide scope suspect and non-target analysis will be applied to provide a better overview of the presence and removal of substances of emerging concern along the water reuse cycle. Microplastics and their additives will also be monitored in these studies, which will include lab-scale experiments under controlled conditions with real grey/wastewater, as well as field studies. All the data collected during the project will feed a comprehensive risk assessment approach to evaluate contaminant water cycle, from pollutant sources to impact the environment and human health and further innovative decision support.

https://reusemp3.icra.cat