Project description
Innovative technology for wastewater treatment
Anaerobic digestion is an innovative process used to treat municipal sewage wastewater at ambient temperatures. The EU-funded AMBI-ROBIC project will introduce this patent-protected process, where unique psychrophilic (cold-loving) microbes break down and convert wastewater pollutants into renewable biogas. This will lead to high-quality treatment in terms of pollutant removal at the primary and secondary treatment stage, > 80 % less electricity consumption compared with the competition, a high-quality biogas by-product for heat, power, fuel cell or vehicle fuel generation and 88 % fewer carbon emissions. The technology eliminates organic sludge production, decreasing sewage sludge transportation and disposal costs. The project will contribute to Europe’s Green Deal goals for climate change mitigation and the industrial transition to a clean and circular economy.
Objective
Introducing a breakthrough product innovation, AMBI-ROBIC®, a disruptive Anaerobic Digestion process. For the first time, this technology can be used to treat municipal sewage wastewater at ambient temperatures. In this patent-protected process, unique psychrophilic (cold-loving) microbes’ breakdown and convert pollutants in the sewage to renewable biogas enabling the process to perform at ambient wastewater temperatures. (ambient definition: environmental conditions, existing in the surrounding area).
The AMBI-ROBIC® innovation offers many benefits for municipal utilities, driven to change by regulatory drivers – EU UWWTD mandates high-quality treatment and the new European Green Deal will mandate further dramatic reductions in carbon emissions.
• High treatment efficiency in terms of pollutant removal at the primary/secondary treatment stage;
• >80% less electricity consumed compared with the competition;
• No organic sludge production: Reduction in sewage sludge transportation & disposal costs;
• High-quality biogas by-product: 100% available for heat, power, fuel cell or vehicle fuel generation;
• Carbon Impact: 88% less carbon emissions than competition;
If implemented across 10% of the EU’s sewage treatment plants, the carbon impact would be equivalent to 282,000 cars removed from our roads.
The proposal addresses the following Green Deal goals:
• Increasing the EU’s climate mitigation and/or adaptation ambition
• Transitioning of industry to a clean and/or circular economy (including waste prevention and/or recycling)
• Preserving and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity
• Realising a zero-pollution ambition and a toxic-free environment
The overall result is an urgency within the municipal wastewater industry to change, adopting innovative low carbon and low energy treatment methods to achieve stricter environmental pollution control standards and meet climate change and carbon emission reduction regulations. AMBI-ROBIC® addresses these challenges.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processeswastewater treatment processes
- engineering and technologyenvironmental biotechnologybioremediationbioreactors
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energy
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsfuel cells
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinator
Mullingar, Co. Westmeath
Ireland
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.