PRISTINE in a nutshell
Removing Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) from water streams thanks to the PRISTINE Integrated Solution
ABOUT THE PROJECT
LIFE PRISTINE project aims to develop the PRISTINE Integrated Solution to remove Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) from water streams. The PRISTINE Integrated Solution will be adaptable on a case-by-case basis for drinking water (DW), to protect humans from CECs, and for wastewater (WW), to protect the environment and remove these contaminants from the water cycle.
LIFE PRISTINE will focus on PFAS, pesticides, PPCPs, toxins, antibiotic resistance genes and microplastics as target contaminants, designated according previous studies in the two demo sites and existing literature.
LIFE PRISTINE goal is to effectively remove >80% of every CECs in WW and DW scenarios, going further if requested by existing legislation. Furthermore, the PRISTINE Integrated Solution will be cost-effective, 30% lower OpEx cost that comparable technologies.
Key Data
A synergistical combination of individual technologies
The PRISTINE Integrated Solution is based on the integration of encapsulated adsorbent technology, hollow-fibre NF membrane, and AOP processes (UV-LED combined with ozonation and/or H2O2), being these technologies controlled and optimised by a Decision Support System fed by AI-based soft-sensors for the online estimation of CECs concentration levels.
In opposition to other existing technologies, the PRISTINE Integrated Solution will permanently remove CECs from water, thus directly applying Zero Waste and Circular Economy principles and coming ahead of existing and near future CECs regulations.
Which are the objectives?
LIFE PRISTINE main objective is to develop and demonstrate an innovative and versatile integrated solution to remove Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) from water streams.
Thus, this main objective covers the 5 R’s philosophy of the project, as detailed in the following specific objectives, including those to ensure an efficient environment for communication, dissemination and replicability of results.
To contribute to the achievement of a CEC-free environment by developing the PRISTINE Integrated Solution able to remove at least 80% CECs in WW and DW treatment systems.
To (long-term) demonstrate the PRISTINE Integrated Solution in two relevant scenarios in a DW treatment plant and in a WW treatment plant, always guaranteeing in the later, a reduction under the levels required by Directive 2020/2184 /EC, and Directive 2013/39/EU, and also under PNEC levels in Watch Lists (Decision 2020/1161).
To ensure market uptake of the PRISTINE Integrated Solution by developing an appropriate strategy, aligning both business and governance interests and needs
To support policy development, regulatory action, and risk communication towards Green Deal and Zero Pollution and Circular Economy Action Plans
To make sure that PRISTINE project results reach the necessary stakeholders from the industry, scientific community and society as a whole.
PRISTINE Integrated Solution
The Project intends to develop and demonstrate the PRISTINE Integrated Solution: a versatile combination of adsorption, nanofiltration and advanced oxidation processes (AOP) and that aims to remove CECs in a more sustainable and cost-effective way. Thereby CECs in the water environment shall not only be relocated into other media and waste streams, but the release of CECs to the water cycle shall be permanently reduced.
Encapsulated adsorbents
Hollow-fibre nanofiltration membranes
Advanced Oxidation UV-LED reactor
Artificial intelligence based soft sensors
The Problem of CECs
The European Union defines the so-called Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) as substances that have the potential to enter the environment and cause adverse ecological and human health effects but are still largely unregulated and whose fate and potential effects are poorly understood.
CECs can be broadly classed into several categories of chemicals such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP), cyanotoxins, nanoparticles, illicit drugs, antibacterial, hormones, disinfection by-products (DBP), artificial sweeteners, benzotriazoles, 1,4-dioxane, perfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFA), microplastics, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARG), as well as emerging contaminants on the horizon such as prions and ionic liquids.
CECs present risks for human health such as immune system impairing or endocrine disrupting effects, carcinogenicity and/or mutagenicity, and are related to the infections caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria.
Understanding CECs’ occurrence, mobility, degradation, toxicity (short-long term) and bioavailability it is still a challenge. It is needed to protect human health and environment, since several contamination cases continue unknown due to the lack of detection techniques, regulatory policies, and impact assessments.
DEMONSTRATION SCENARIOS
The PRISTINE Integrated Solution will be demonstrated in operationally representative conditions for drinking water and wastewater treatment, running for a year each.
The PRISTINE Integrated Pilot Plant constructed will be installed at in a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Murcia.
After that testing, the demonstration plant will be sent to the wastewater treatment scenario to be demonstrated for 12 additional months in the Bilbao Bizkaia Advanced Water Treatment Centre (CATABB), with the support of technology providers Eurecat, NX Filtration and Xylem.
CONSORTIUM
ACCIONA leads the water treatment sector through the design, construction and operation of reverse osmosis desalination infrastructures, drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs), wastewater treatment plants (WWTPS) and tertiary treatments for water reuse, with a recently reinforced focus on services for cities.
The total population that benefits from ACCIONA water services is about 100 million people in 30 countries of the 5 continents. In 2021, the company treated almost 1,033 hm3 of water, 50.4 % in water stress areas. Innovation plays a key strategic role in ACCIONA daily business activities, revealed by the many technological innovations included in WTPs and WWTPs built/operated by ACCIONA and developed by ACCIONA’s Innovation Department.
Contribution to LIFE PRISTINE
ACCIONA is the LIFE PRISTINE project coordinator. Besides the management role, ACCIONA leads the development of the CECs soft sensor and of the LIFE PRISTINE Integrated Solution for CECs removal in drinking and wastewater streams, integrating digital mathematical models which replicate physical individual processes part of the solution. This versatile Integrated Solution will be governed by a Decision Support System implementing AI techniques whose development will fall under ACCIONA’s responsibility. In addition, assessment, transferability and replication actions will be coordinated by ACCIONA, with the support of the rest of the partners.
Eurecat is the leading Technology Centre of Catalonia, providing the industrial and business sector with differential technology and advanced expertise.
The centre offers to their innovation needs and boosts their competitiveness in a fast-paced environment. It brings together the expertise of 650 professionals who generate a volume of income of 50M€ per year. Serving more than a thousand companies, Eurecat is involved in 200 projects of R&D national and international with high strategic value.
Contribution to LIFE PRISTINE
Eurecat is responsible, through its Chemical Technology Unit, of the development of an adsorption capsule system for CECs elimination, both in drinking water and in wastewater scenarios. Moreover, it is in charge of running the different communication and dissemination activities of the project, designed to maximise its visibility and to reach the identified stakeholders.
Eurecat – Centro Tecnológico de Catalunya
NX Filtration is a leading manufacturer for advanced hollow fiber membranes for nanofiltration, ultrafiltration and microfiltration applications. NX Filtration’s membrane technology is capable of selectively removing organics from polluted water, including micropollutants, color, antibiotics, PFAS, bacteria and viruses.
This has resulted in new and simple processes for the treatment of water, the reuse of wastewater and the production of potable water. We deliver robust products and innovative solutions enabling our partners to excel in sustainable membrane filtration applications.
Contribution to LIFE PRISTINE
NX Filtration will provide advanced hollow fibers direct nanofiltration membranes for pilot trials execution on drinking water and wastewater facilities, which has been demonstrated for successful elimination of certain types of persistent mobile compounds (including PFAS and pesticides), and identify PMC rejection performance of different membrane types and processing conditions allowing the technology to either be modified during operation or to be optimally implemented on sites based on the PMC type and concentration.
ESAMUR is a public company created by the Law 3/2000, of July 12, of Sewerage and Wastewater Treatment and Implantation of the Sewerage fee in Murcia Region. The Law of Sewerage assigns to ESAMUR the task of collecting and managing the Sewerage fee, applying these economic resources to the tasks of exploitation, maintenance and control of the public facilities of wastewater treatment in Murcia Region (Spain).
Contribution to LIFE PRISTINE
ESAMUR will coordinate the analytical campaign for the characterization of waste water, moreover will contribute its experience and support to the demonstration activities, the evaluation of the impact of the project, the development of actions related to policies and support the activities of communication and dissemination.
Xylem is a leading water technology company committed to «solving water» by creating innovative and smart technology solutions to meet the world’s water, wastewater and energy needs.
In a world of ever-growing challenges, Xylem delivers innovative water technology solutions throughout the cycle of water.
Our technological strength across the life cycle of water is second-to-none. From collection and distribution to reuse and return to nature, our highly efficient water technologies, industrial pumps and application solutions not only use less energy and reduce life-cycle costs, but also promote sustainability.
Contribution to LIFE PRISTINE
Xylem is the technology provider and developer, contributing with their expertise in Oxidation (Ozone), Disinfection (UV) and Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOP), that capitalizes on their 40 years of experience and more than two hundred fifty thousand water and wastewater treatment installations worldwide.
The innovation, development and integration of new UV-LED technology for treatment processes and reactor designs through the deep involvement of their Research and Development team (R&D) will bring the UV-LED technology forward. This progress is needed to bring UV-LED technology nearer to a new standard for water purification challenges and for combating emerging contaminants in water streams.
NEWS & EVENTS
Exhibition of a poster based on LIFE PRISTINE research at the ecoSTP conference
Aina Soler Jofra, project partner from ACCIONA, has shared LIFE PRISTINE knowledge at the 6th IWA International Conference on eco-Technologies for Wastewater Treatment (ecoSTP 2023), celebrated on Girona (Spain) on June 26th-29th.During the event, she exhibited a poster entitled “Innovative and versatile integrated solution to remove contaminants of emerging concern
Presenting the LIFE PRISTINE project at AEDyR’s International Congress
The LIFE PRISTINE project has been present at the 13th International Congress of the Spanish Desalination and Reuse Association (AEDyR), celebrated on June 13th-15th in Granada (Spain). Maria del Mar Micó, project partner from ACCIONA, introduced LIFE PRISTINE during her speech, entitled “Innovative and Versatile Integrated Solution to Remove
ACCIONA dissaminates LIFE PRISTINE during the IDEAS 2023 Conference
Miriam Carolina Pérez Cova, researcher of the R+D department in ACCIONA, has presented the LIFE PRISTINE project during the IDEAS 2023 Conference organised by the Spanish Association of Water Supply and Sanitation (AEAS) and hosted by the Bilbao Bizkaia Water Consortium (CABB) on May 30th-31st, 2023. Her presentation, entitled
ACCIONA highlights LIFE PRISTINE as a success story in a webinar about the LIFE Programme 2023 call
Ana Jiménez, Head of Innovation Management & Technology Transfer in ACCIONA and LIFE PRISTINE project coordinator, participated in the webinar “LIFE Call 2023 main priorities” organised by the international consultancy Euro-funding on May 10th, 2023. During her presentation, she shared the success story of LIFE PRISTINE, one of the
Celebration of LIFE PRISTINE first monitoring meeting
The LIFE PRISTINE project celebrated its first review meeting in Murcia (Spain) on April 20th, 2023. During the meeting, which was assisted by a representative of the LIFE External Monitoring Team, all partners presented the work carried out during the first nine months of the project and discussed the
LIFE PRISTINE presentation at the Technical Conferences on the Reuse of Reclaimed Water
Aina Soler Jofra, project partner from ACCIONA, has presented the LIFE PRISTINE project during the XV edition of the Technical Conferences on the Reuse of Reclaimed Water, organised by AEDyR and ESAMUR and celebrated on March 15th-16th in Cartagena (Spain). During her presentation, entitled “Pursuing the elimination of emerging
LIFE PRISTINE is present during a scientific talk targeted to high-school students
Aina Soler Jofra, project partner from ACCIONA, introduced LIFE PRISTINE during a talk to a group of 60 high-school students from the Anna Mogas School-Institute, in Granollers (Spain). The talk was part of the 100tífiques initiative, celebrated on February 10th, one day before the International Day of Women and
Presentation of LIFE PRISTINE during an Isle Utilities webinar
Ana Jiménez-Banzo, Head of Innovation Management & Technology Transfer Innovation Department at ACCIONA, presented the LIFE PRISTINE project during the webinar “Microcontaminants: how to manage them”, part of the Isle Utilities Webinar Series, which ran on February 1st, 2023. During her presentation, she gave an overview of LIFE PRISTINE,
Acciona presents the LIFE PRISTINE project at the 3rd Congress of Spanish Young Water Professionals
Maria del Mar Micó, partner from project coordinator ACCIONA, has presented the LIFE PRISTINE project during the 3rd Congress of Spanish Young Water Professionals (YWP) 2022, celebrated on November 16th-19th at the School of Engineering of the University of Valencia (ETSE-UV), Spain. During her presentation, entitled “Emerging pollutants in
Acciona leads an initiative to eliminate emerging pollutants in the end-to-end water cycle
The LIFE PRISTINE project combines water treatment processes with artificial intelligence-based digital tools to develop a solution that removes emerging pollutants in the integrated water cycle. The integrated and versatile PRISTINE solution will be demonstrated in a representative full-scale operational environment. LIFE PRISTINE, with a budget of 4 million
RESOURCES
Here is a list of LIFE PRISTINE work packages and deliverables.
WP1 – Project Management and Coordination
→ D1.1 – Project Management Handbook – Executive Summary
WP2 – Analytical campaign for demo sites characterization
D2.1 – Water characterization and technical requirements
WP3 – Individual technology fine-tuning and prototype construction
D3.1 – Report on the development of the individual technologies
D3.2 – Report on combination and scaling up of the developed technologies
WP4 – Pilot design, construction, and commissioning: integration of removal technologies and digital components
D4.1 – Report on the integration of PRISTINE components into an operational solution
D4.2 – Design tool for CEC removal prediction
WP5 – Demonstration activities in drinking water and wastewater real scenarios
D5.1 – LIFE PRISTINE DW Pilot Plant test report
D5.2 – LIFE PRISTINE WW Pilot Plant test report
D5.3 – LIFE PRISTINE Integrated Solution – Final
WP6 – Impact assessment
D6.1 – Monitoring report of LIFE PRISTINE impacts
D6.2 – Extract of the project data from the LIFE KPI webtool (M9)
D6.3 – Extract of the project data from the LIFE KPI webtool (end of the project)
WP7 – Sustainability, replication, and exploitation of project results
D7.1 – LIFE PRISTINE Business Plan and Exploitation Strategy
WP8 – Communication & Raise awareness
→ D8.1 – Communication and Dissemination reports – Executive Summary
→ D8.2 – LIFE PRISTINE website – Full paper
→ D8.3 – Dedicated project page on the beneficiaries’ website – Full paper
Download below the LIFE PRISTINE promotional materials, containing key information about the project.
Brochure | Rollup | Poster |
|  |  |
See below a selection of articles featuring LIFE PRISTINE.
October 9th, 2022 | Aqua Tech
EU collaboration links membarnes & AI to target emerging pollutants
October 6th, 2022 | FuturENVIRO
October 5th, 2022 | iAgua
ACCIONA lidera una iniciativa para eliminar contaminantes emergentes en el ciclo integral del agua (Spanish)
October 5th, 2022 | RETEMA
ACCIONA lidera LIFE PRISTINE para eliminar contaminantes emergentes en el ciclo integral del agua (Spanish)
Newsletter 1 – July 2023
Newsletter 1 – July 2023In the first newsletter you will learn about the project’s objectives and expected results, the PRISTINE Integrated Solution, a selecion of media articles featuring LIFE PRISTINE and the latest events attended by project partners.
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INTERESTED?
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Contact: lifepristineproject@gmail.com
