FIT4REUSE

PROJECTS
Dec 3, 2018
3 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

Safe and sustainable solutions for the integrated use of non-conventional water resources in the Mediterranean agricultural sector

Duration: 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2022

Funding programme and call: Grant Agreement number: [1823] [FIT4REUSE] [Call 2018 Section 1 Water]

Project budget: € 2.020.000,00

SEL NTUA budget: € 210.000,00

Coordinator: University of Bologna (UNIBO)

SEL NTUA role: WP9 Leader “Communication and dissemination”

Project website: https://fit4reuse.org/

Project summary and objectives

The FIT4REUSE project aimed to provide safe, sustainable, and accepted ways of water supply for the Mediterranean basin by exploiting non-conventional water resources. It brought together nine partners from seven Mediterranean countries. The project focused on the development and optimization of both nature-based solutions -such as constructed wetlands- and intensive technologies, including bioengineered techniques and advanced nanomaterials, to enhance wastewater treatment. Tailored combinations of these approaches were explored to effectively remove pathogens and emerging contaminants, enabling safe water reuse. Cost-efficient and sustainable desalination, improved drip irrigation techniques, enhanced aquifer recharge with treated wastewater and soil aquifers treatment were also investigated. Furthermore, it was focused on the development of guidelines for water reuse safety planning and the assessment of economic, environmental, and social impacts of its solutions. Public perception and policy frameworks were also examined to increase public acceptance of treated wastewater and desalinated water, supported by continuous communication and dissemination of results to maximize its impacts and uptake.

Project demonstration sites

The FIT4REUSE project involved the following partners: UNIBO, UNIVPM, ISPRA, BIOAZUL SL, ECOFILAE, NTUA, Mekorot, ISSBAT, and İTÜNOVA. The pilot and experimental sites, along with the simulation platform, were the following:

Pilot Site 1: Improving performance of constructed wetlands to reach quality required for wastewater reuse in agriculture (Granarolo, Italy).
Pilot Site 2: Selecting the most suitable substrates, plants species and optimization of operational conditions in order to reuse wastewater in agriculture (Wastewater treatment plant El Manzah, Tunisia).
Pilot Site 3: Removing organic carbon ( >80%) with low area footprint and energy recovery (Lesvos, Greece).
Pilot Site 4: Producing Class A effluent quality with further removal of emerging contaminants (focus on pharmaceutical) and biogas production (Falconara Marittima, Italy).
Pilot Site 5: Removing heavy metals and emerging contaminants from wastewater (Athens, Greece).
Pilot Site 6: Improving contaminants removal efficiency, safe wastewater reuse in agriculture, recovering biogas and decreasing energy consumption (Chotrana, Tunisia).
Pilot Site 7: Recovering nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater: sorbent material selection and process optimization (Bologna, Italy).
Pilot Site 8: Decreasing energy consumption using photovoltaic panels and hybrid configuration, brine management, salts removal from brackish water (Tunis, Tunisia).
Pilot Site 9: Decreasing energy consumption using different cartridge filters and implementing FRD device (Lahat BWRO Plant, Israel).
Pilot Site 10: Reducing nitrates concentration from 70 to 5 ppm (Ashkelon, Israel).
Pilot Site 11: Reduction of discharge flows towards a zero liquid discharge and selective removal of calcium salts, for optimization of the treatment process, and magnesium for the recovery of struvite (Ancona, Italy).
Pilot Site 12: Improving treatment efficiencies combining intensive and nature-based solutions to produce effluent suitable for reuse in agriculture (Imola, Italy).
Pilot Site 13: Treating wastewater for irrigation reuse (Lahat BWRO Plant, Israel).
Pilot Site 14: Producing Class B (or better) quality of reclaimed water for agricultural irrigation (Lesvos, Greece).
Experimental Site 1: Testing the effects of treated wastewater on irrigation drippers clogging, sanitary quality of soil and crops, as well as effect of nutrients present in wastewater on crop growth (Cesena, Italy).
Experimental Site 2: Investigation of the benefits of water reuse in terms of fertilization, dealing with water quality evolution in open storage and the best on-field solutions to limit drippers clogging (Saint Jean de Cornies, France).
Simulation Platform: Fit4Reuse simulation platform was designed to simulate simplified models of the Fit4Reuse solutions as a tool mainly for decision making.

Our role in the project

SEL NTUA led the communication and dissemination activities (WP9), including the development of related materials, reports and deliverables. It was also responsible for the Greek pilot sites (Athens and Lesvos) and actively contributed to tasks and deliverables across multiple work packages (WPs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8). Additionally, SEL NTUA developed the project’s Data Management Plan (Task 1.4, Deliverable D1.2). Within WP3, it led Task 3.1 and the corresponding deliverable (D3.1), which focused on the design, construction, testing, start-up, and baseline operation of the experimental units.

Research team

Simos Malamis, Daniel Mamais, Constantinos Noutsopoulos, Elena Koumaki, Tadej Stepisnik Perdih, Andriani Galani, Evridiki Barka