Mobile water treatment pilot plants
This testing infrastructure provides us with five different water treatment technologies in modular containers. This allows companies and governments to temporarily test and demonstrate water treatment systems on a real scale. These mobile containers are installed and connected on site. The containers can be connected individually or in series.
5 different water treatment technologies in modular containers
VITO is committed to making our water system smarter, more robust and sustainable. Therefore, we invest in the development of water expertise and test infrastructure to help companies, governments and organisations to temporarily test and demonstrate water treatment systems on a real scale.
That way, we can conduct in-depth research into circular water use in Flanders. After all, water treatment is quite complex and tests in laboratories are not always a good reflection of the real situation in which companies have to work.
With this test infrastructure, VITO now has five different water purification technologies available in modular containers. These mobile containers are installed and connected on site. The containers can be connected individually or in series.
The technologies that can be deployed through the water treatment containers are:
- Multifiltration (MMF)
- Activated carbon filtration (AKF)
- Ultrafiltration (UF)
- Reverse osmosis (RO)
- Direct nanofiltration (dNF)
Projects with the mobile water purification containers
Vlaanderen Waterproof
Together with local partners, the Vlaanderen Waterproof/Flanders Waterproof project aims to get more out of our precious water. Here, in the fruit region par excellence, we are cherry-picking effective water and soil management.
Fruit growers yearn for additional water sources during droughts. At the same time, sewerage operator Aquafin discharges more than 800 million m³ of treated domestic wastewater per year. Why not give that water a second life?
After initial treatment, too many micropollutants and bacteria often remain for immediate use in fruit cultivation. That is why an extra purification step is needed. Which additional purification techniques can you use? How can you combine them? That is exactly what Flanders WaterProof is investigating in this test set-up at Aquafin Hasselt.
This way, we can offer a safe, qualitative and sustainable water source to the Haspengouw fruit cultivation!
MembRix
In the KIS project MembRix, VITO is testing an innovative and cost-effective solution to efficiently remove long-chain, short-chain, and ultra-short-chain PFAS from wastewater generated by industrial laundries. PFAS are highly persistent chemical substances with water-, grease-, and dirt-repellent properties, which is why they are widely used in textile fabrics. As a result, these substances end up in the concentrate streams of the laundries’ water treatment systems and therefore require further treatment. This challenge is now addressed by combining nanofiltration with regenerable ion exchange for the first time. Nanofiltration concentrates the PFAS and removes interfering salts, after which the ion exchange resin selectively removes the PFAS from the water.
CherisH2O
Within the CHERISH₂O project (CHEmical industry water Reuse In a Sustainable Harbour), the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, VITO, essenscia, VMM, and Antea Group are exploring the feasibility of purifying industrial wastewater from chemical companies for large-scale reuse. No less than 12 companies are participating in the research project, highlighting its relevance. By producing process water from wastewater streams, the harbour companies aim to reduce their water consumption, helping industry mitigate risks of water shortages, particularly during droughts, while also safeguarding drinking water supplies for the public.
