Programme: «CENTRAL MACEDONIA 2021–2027»
Action: «Innovation Investment Plans»
Project Title
Development of an Energy-Autonomous Mobile Electrodialysis Unit for Groundwater Treatment (AQUASOLE)
Brief Description
TEMAK A.E.T.E. participated in the “Central Macedonia” Programme under the Greek National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF/ESPA) 2021–2027, through the “Innovation Investment Plans” Action, co-financed by the European Union and national resources.
The project entitled “Development of an Energy-Autonomous Mobile Electrodialysis Unit for Groundwater Treatment” aimed to develop and demonstrate, in a relevant environment, an alternative system for softening brackish groundwater and removing nitrate ions, thereby making the water suitable for drinking-water supply. The AQUASOLE system is based on electrodialysis (ED) technology, is energy-autonomous (powered by solar energy through connection to a photovoltaic panel system, PV), and has a zero liquid-discharge footprint, since the two liquid streams produced by the process (diluate and concentrate) can be used directly for drinking-water supply (high-purity water) and irrigation/aquifer recharge (a concentrate of inorganic constituents for soil fertilisation), respectively.
Indicative expected benefits of the project, arising from the activities it encompasses, include:
- Addressing technological challenges and developing/demonstrating an innovative groundwater decontamination technology in a relevant environment.
- Strengthening the competitiveness of TEMAK A.E.T.E. in an emerging market through the commercial exploitation of the innovative technology.
- Enhancing TEMAK A.E.T.E.’s technological expertise in the field of environmental protection.
- Developing reliable methods that enable end users of AQUASOLE technology to implement effective environmental policies, with positive economic and social impacts.
The project had both business and scientific objectives. The business objectives concerned strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship at TEMAK A.E.T.E. through the development of a new product offering significant advantages and competitive features compared with conventional water-treatment systems available on the market. The investment responds to the current drinking-water needs of local authorities, particularly in non-urban and decentralised areas with degraded groundwater resources, as well as to growing demand from the private sector (especially tourism businesses, such as hotels, campsites, etc.) for energy-autonomous systems, due to operational problems affecting central electricity supply networks and, in many cases, the inability to connect to those networks. Through the AQUASOLE project, TEMAK A.E.T.E. seeks to validate the technological maturity of an integrated ED/PV system, which is essential for decisions on future investment in infrastructure and personnel to support large-scale manufacturing of systems under the AQUASOLE trade name.
The scientific objectives relate to optimising the operation of the ED system and successfully integrating it with a PV system incorporating energy storage to achieve energy autonomy. To this end, the project investigates:
- ion-exchange membrane materials with regard to the selective removal of monovalent anions (nitrates);
- the electrical resistance of the membranes and ED stack, with the aim of minimising energy consumption and maximising water recovery;
- the optimisation of operating conditions (current density, hydraulic residence time);
- the optimisation of ED system operation and maintenance procedures (ion-exchange membrane fouling, cleaning protocols);
- the development of suitable models capable of realistically representing physical phenomena in order to (a) reliably predict the desired operational, economic performance and sustainability indicators and (b) provide substantial flexibility in representing a larger number of parameters to be used for structural and operational optimisation of the integrated system;
- the development and optimisation of the hybrid ED/PV process;
- the development of energy-management strategies (energy-consumption calculations) that account for variations in available solar energy and demand for clean water;
- the scale-up of the integrated process;
- the development of an energy-autonomous system for decentralised treatment and management of borehole water in remote areas.
Total Project Budget: €249,840.00
TEMAK A.E.T.E. Budget: €121,375.00
Public Funding for TEMAK A.E.T.E.: €97,100.00
