The Eurecat technology centre is taking part in the European LIFE PRISTINE innovation project led by ACCIONA which seeks to eliminate emerging pollutants in the water cycle. This is one of the key measures to promote alternative water resources in response to water scarcity which afflicts over 2.8 billion people worldwide.
A number of forums are warning of the pressing need to put in place measures to safeguard water resources whether by reducing water usage or finding alternative water resources through desalination or reuse. These non-conventional resources are crucial to securing the water needed in industries such as agriculture, the largest consumer of water in the EU.
Against this backdrop, one of the challenges in unlocking water reuse is eliminating emerging pollutants and microplastics, substances of anthropogenic origin which are not easily removed by today’s purification systems and may end up in seas and rivers or even enter the food chain. Although they are only found in negligible amounts, their persistence may create hazards and so there is increasing emphasis on regulating the use of these substances and developing solutions to remove them from the environment.
