[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7040\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EMining sewage for fertilisers and energy to prevent water shortages \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrently, water use risks leaving \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.unenvironment.org\/news-and-stories\/press-release\/half-world-face-severe-water-stress-2030-unless-water-use-decoupled\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ehalf the world\u003C\/a\u003E facing severe scarcity by 2030 as demand outstrips supply. The linear way our societies and industries think about water \u2013 constantly extracting it for use and then dumping it back into oceans and rivers \u2013 is unsustainable in a world facing the challenges of a growing population and climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Natural water resources are not endless,\u2019 said Dr Christos Makropoulos, Associate Professor at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and the Chief Information Officer of KWR, a water research institute in the Netherlands. \u2018They are very dependent on a stable climate, which is currently changing \u2013 and we\u2019ve based our entire economy and livelihoods on them just being available whenever we need them.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.unesco.org\/new\/en\/natural-sciences\/environment\/water\/wwap\/wwdr\/2015-water-for-a-sustainable-world\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EUnited Nations\u003C\/a\u003E believes there could be enough water to meet the world\u2019s growing needs, but only if we find a better way to make the most of every drop. One way to do this is to think about water in terms of the circular economy \u2013 keeping water within social or industrial systems for as long as possible and simultaneously extracting additional value from it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If you\u0026nbsp;manage to\u0026nbsp;treat and reuse wastewater, and extract useful materials and energy, like nutrients that could become fertilisers for agriculture, or\u0026nbsp;added-value compounds\u0026nbsp;for the chemical industry \u2013 you are both protecting the\u0026nbsp;environment\u0026nbsp;and shielding your cities and\u0026nbsp;industries (from water scarcity),\u2019 said Dr Makropoulos.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignleft@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022In the Netherlands, researchers are re-using wastewater from a brewery by treating it through an engineered ecosystem. Image credit - Christos Makropoulos\u0022 height=\u0022936\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/IMCEUpload\/OpeningBiomakerijTrappisten%20425Def_smal.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022In the Netherlands, researchers are re-using wastewater from a brewery by treating it through an engineered ecosystem. Image credit - Christos Makropoulos\u0022 width=\u00221400\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EIn the Netherlands, researchers are re-using wastewater from a brewery by treating it through an engineered ecosystem. Image credit - Christos Makropoulos\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWater mining\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe is the co-coordinator of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/216646\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ENextGen\u003C\/a\u003E, a project demonstrating different circular water technologies across ten different sites in Europe. In the Netherlands they are using engineered ecosystems to treat and reuse wastewater from a brewery. In the United Kingdom, they are developing technologies to extract methane gas from wastewater treatment plants so that it can be used as an energy source.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey even have a portable wastewater mining unit in Greece that extracts sewage, cleans it using tiny membranes, disinfects it and then irrigates public parks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technologies at all ten sites use water in ways that reduce the amount that needs to be extracted and therefore enhances regional resilience against water scarcity. Most of these solutions were developed prior to NextGen\u2019s inception, but the project is helping to refine and advance the technology while also showcasing their potential on a bigger, more commercial stage.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In each site we demonstrate a different set up that closes the cycle in terms of energy, water or resources, or sometimes a combination of all three,\u2019 said Dr Makropoulos. \u2018Part of the ambition here is to use these sites as living labs, in other words as spaces\u0026nbsp;where\u0026nbsp;people \u2013\u0026nbsp;like\u0026nbsp;schools, regional\u0026nbsp;authorities\u0026nbsp;or municipalities, or businesses \u2013 can visit and understand how they work.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is a crucial step in convincing local governments and businesses to change how they think about water \u2013 that it is a renewable resource rather than a commodity to be exploited. In the past, circular technologies struggled to scale up because regulators and the market did not appreciate their potential and failed to create the commercial environment needed to drive demand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018If you extract useful materials, like nutrients that could become soil\u0026amp;nbsp;enhancers\u0026amp;nbsp;or\u0026amp;nbsp;compounds\u0026amp;nbsp;for the chemical industry, you are both protecting the\u0026amp;nbsp;environment\u0026amp;nbsp;and shielding your cities and\u0026amp;nbsp;industries (from water scarcity).\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Christos Makropoulos, KWR, Netherlands.\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese \u2018living labs\u2019 are also a tool to help regulators see the need to change legislation, added Dr Makropoulos. Outdated definitions and regulations of waste are currently standing in the way of some resources extracted from wastewater entering the market or becoming cost-competitive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Ilaria Schiavi, a resource management expert at IRIS, an Italian sustainable technology business, many European countries struggle to grasp how the circular economy works in practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Not many\u0026nbsp;countries\u0026nbsp;have circular economy\u0026nbsp;strategies\u0026nbsp;and the ones that do are still\u0026nbsp;figuring out how actions can trickle down to planning on the ground,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis could mean that opportunities to create systems that reduce a region\u0027s water demand are missed in major development projects, which can lock areas into the current use-and-discard water culture.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The approach to water has been\u0026nbsp;that it will always be there and we don\u2019t need to think about it when enlarging\u0026nbsp;a city,\u2019 said Schiavi, who is also the project coordinator of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/216088\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EProject \u00d4\u003C\/a\u003E, which aims to demonstrate different technologies and approaches to circular water management. \u0027But that\u2019s not true anymore.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELower bills\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers are developing software to help local authorities and businesses analyse and understand the economic benefits of sustainable water strategies, such as the amount of money saved by rewarding those who use less water with lower bills. They are also demonstrating wastewater recycling technologies that ease the pressure on existing sewage treatment sites alongside strategies for using alternative sources of local water, like rain or from industrial sources.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignleft@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Water stress happens when demand for water exceeds the amount available of acceptable quality, and varies from region to region. Image credit - Horizon\u0022 height=\u00221162\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/IMCEUpload\/waterstressmap.png\u0022 title=\u0022Water stress happens when demand for water exceeds the amount available of acceptable quality, and varies from region to region. Image credit - Horizon\u0022 width=\u0022983\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EWater stress happens when demand for water exceeds the amount available of acceptable quality, and varies from region to region. Image credit - Horizon\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMost existing water treatment plants were built to deal with domestic sewage, but with growing pollutants from nearby industry and changing habits in society, like the increased use of antibiotics, plants now have to cope with contaminants that they were not initially designed for. This cocktail of pollutants makes it more expensive to clean the water, but also harder to extract any resources that could be reused.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are trying to act on the contaminants close to the source of the contamination because they are concentrated enough to be effectively treated,\u2019 said Schiavi.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project team has already helped install a treatment plant at an Israeli aquaculture research centre that would enable 100% recycling of the water, thus eliminating the need to take more out of the ocean.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe plant uses algae to treat the wastewater, which pulls nutrients out and these are then used for feeding locally farmed fish or as a feedstock for nutraceutical (dietary supplements) or other industrial applications. This circular approach also prevents the wastewater being dumped back into the environment, where it can trigger huge blooms of toxic algae that can suffocate other marine life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The best\u0026nbsp;way to prevent waste\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;not to generate it and that\u2019s the same\u0026nbsp;approach we want to create with wastewater,\u2019 said Schiavi.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the European Union. 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