Technology combination & Machine Learning
Over three years, the project conducted one pilot plant with two demonstration scenarios, racking up over 8500 demonstration hours and 12,960 cubic metres of reclaimed water.
The propose technology consists of the incorporation of different technologies, among them dissolved air flotation, polymer and ceramic membrane filtering, advanced oxidation processes, reverse osmosis and the addition of chemicals with a low environmental impact.
According to the project partners, the integrated solution is characterised by its “robustness, efficiency and sustainability, qualities that are required to take on challenges such as the extreme variability of water or its complex composition”.
Furthermore, a Decision Support System (DSS) based on Artificial Intelligent algorithms (Machine Learning) were able to implement and operate the most appropriate configuration of individual technologies depending on: the quality of the input water and the quality of the output water needed for a particular reuse application.
Project results
The results from the European INTEGROIL Project were presented during a seminar held in Madrid towards the end of May.
During the seminar the partners explained the different phases of the project over the last three years. The first phase was dedicated to the design and construction of a pilot plant that incorporates all the technologies, and the remaining time - in periods of 12 months- to testing in two different scenarios: the first representing conditions of crude oil extraction, the so-called “upstream scenario” in the desalination plant at La Tordera (Spain), and the second in the TÜPRAŞ refinery in Turkey, to demonstrate the “downstream” conditions.
The results obtained in both scenarios show that it is feasible to apply the technology of the INTEGROIL project to oil installations and extend this practice to other industries, fulfilling the quality requirements for the re-use of water for different purposes.
In terms of energy consumption, the current results oscillate around 3 kW/m3 although, as the project partners explained, work will continue to reduce this.
Replicating the solution
Started in 2016, the project is aligned with several of the priorities identified by the European Innovation Platform on Water (EIP Water), an initiative by the European Commission to promote the development of innovative solutions that contribute to solving the major challenges facing the water sector.
With the aim of evaluating the possibilities of the transfer and replicability of the solution, the project is supported by an advisory committee made up of experts from the oil sector and also from other vertical markets that experience problems in the treatment of complex water for later re-use.
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