Ultraviolet-purified water for irrigating fields

Ultraviolet light technology to purify wastewater of pollutants. i.e., nitrogen, phosphorous, pathogenic bacteria and emerging micropollutants and derive water for field irrigation and biofertilisers. This is the objective of the project called Interch4water and carried out by a collaborative project involving Enea, the universities of Ferrara and Bologna, the CNR and industrial partners Hera of Ferrara, Cifo srl of the Biolchim spa group and Naturedulis srl.

The innovation will be part of a system composed of various hi-tech solutions, realised as part of the initiative. Specifically ceramic/photocatalytic/adsorbent filters, advanced oxidation processes, UV, ozone, microalgae. As part of the project, financed by the Emilia Romagna Region, the working group composed of ENEA researchers will test the effectiveness of ultraviolet light technology, in particular for the removal of micropollutants emerging from wastewater. These are molecules used in the production of certain drugs such as carbamazepine (anticonvulsant), clarithromycin (antibiotic), diclofenac (anti-inflammatory), levofloxacin and erythromycin (antibiotics), and compounds found in plastics, such as bisphenol A, classified as an endocrine disruptor, which can alter the functioning of the hormonal system even at extremely low concentrations.

"In the laboratory, we have already started to carry out the first analysis and pollutant abatement tests on solutions prepared by us and on waste water samples taken from the Hera purification plant in Ferrara," emphasises Luigi Sciubba an ENEA researcher and reference person for the project. And the first tests gave a good result especially for the diclofenac molecule, used as an anti-inflammatory, with a abatement percentage of over 99%'.

Among the activities carried out is also sampling and analysis of microplastics (between 1 and 5,000 microns in size) in wastewater.

"Together with all the project partners, we will contribute to a more efficient removal of the most common pollutants, both chemical and biological, present in municipal sewage treatment plants and industrial processes," Sciubba argues. "This will allowguaranteeing a higher quality of water, which can be returned to natural watercourses or reused for different uses such as irrigation.