Water reuse in the petrochemical industry
Freshwater resources are increasingly under stress conditions and there exists a huge mismatch between available water resources and rising water demand in many parts of the world. In Europe, water scarcity affects at least 11% of the population and 17% of the territory. Regions with low rainfall and high population densities are prone to water stress same as areas with intense agricultural, industrial or tourism activities. Therefore, protection of water resources is one of the main milestones of environmental protection in Europe.
The industrial sector is the second largest consumer of water after agriculture, using 22% of the freshwater volume drawn in the world. Within the industrial sector, the petrochemical industry is a major water user, mainly for cooling and steam production, and generates considerable volumes of wastewater. At European level, this sector alone is responsible for 1,750 million cubic metres of wastewater a year. To face this challenge, the REWATCH project aims to validate the economic, environmental and technical feasibility of an innovative treatment system for water reuse in the petrochemical industry.
The main stages of REWATCH innovative treatment for water reuse
1 Wastewater generation
2 Physicochemical pre-treatment
3 Biological process
4 Ultrafiltration
5 Reverse Osmosis
6 Water deionization
7 Use of reclaimed water
News
Start-up of the pilot plant
Petrochemical industry is a great water consumer sector, producing wastewater with complex composition and at high volumes (around 1,750 millions of m3 per year). In order to introduce the circular economy concept into the petrochemical sector, LIFE-REWATCH project...
REWATCH LCA presented at the 9th International Conference on LCM
Last September 2019, REWATCH results from Life Cycle Analysis of the project prototype were presented at the 9th International Conference on Life Cycle Management LCM 2019 held in Poznan. Joan Berzosa, researcher from Eurecat Manresa, was in charge of presenting the...
The REWATCH consortium meets with the NEEMO monitoring expert
Last 25th of June 2019 took place the sixth review meeting at DOW North Petrochemical Complex in La Pobla de Mafumet, Tarragona Province, Spain. Representatives of all beneficiaries attended the meeting along with María José de la Torre, the NEEMO expert responsible...