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Design, Prototyping, and Assessment of a Wastewater Closed-Loop Recovery and Purification System

Author

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  • Marco Bortolini

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 2, Bologna 40136, Italy)

  • Mauro Gamberi

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 2, Bologna 40136, Italy)

  • Cristina Mora

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 2, Bologna 40136, Italy)

  • Francesco Pilati

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 2, Bologna 40136, Italy)

  • Alberto Regattieri

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 2, Bologna 40136, Italy)

Abstract

Efforts to decrease the water use within industry are mandatory to pursue product and process sustainability. Particularly, the European Union (EU) is at the top level for water consumption in industry, while some sectors, such as the food and beverage (F&B), are highly water-intensive with hundreds of liters per hour of consumed and, then, drained water. This article provides a systematic overview of the most innovative insights coming from an EU Eco-Innovation project dealing with greening the F&B industry through the design, prototyping, technical, economic, and environmental assessment of a wastewater closed-loop recovery and purification system. The system, tailored for a standard mid-size F&B company using 2–3 billion L/year of raw water, collects, purifies and recirculates the key produced wastewater streams with an overall recovery efficiency of about 56%. The proposed purification technology comes from the most efficient combination of membrane-based filtration methods, reverse osmosis (RO), and ultraviolet modules. Evidence from the technical design, full-scale on-site technology prototyping, net-present-value (NPV) analysis and system life-cycle-assessment (LCA) are presented concluding about the convenience of adopting the proposed solution to reduce costs and impacts on the environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Marco Bortolini & Mauro Gamberi & Cristina Mora & Francesco Pilati & Alberto Regattieri, 2017. "Design, Prototyping, and Assessment of a Wastewater Closed-Loop Recovery and Purification System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-12, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:11:p:1938-:d:116296
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jared B. Fitzgerald & Daniel Auerbach, 2016. "The Political Economy of the Water Footprint: A Cross-National Analysis of Ecologically Unequal Exchange," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Philip Leat & Cesar Revoredo-Giha & Chrysa Lamprinopoulou, 2011. "Scotland’s Food and Drink Policy Discussion: Sustainability Issues in the Food Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-27, March.
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    1. Simona Bungau & Delia Mirela Tit & Katalin Fodor & Gabriela Cioca & Maricel Agop & Ciprian Iovan & Delia Carmen Nistor Cseppento & Adrian Bumbu & Cristiana Bustea, 2018. "Aspects Regarding the Pharmaceutical Waste Management in Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-14, August.

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