Summary:
INCOVER has been about harvesting or recovering resources from wastewater streams. Phosphorus is one of those resources that has been problematic in that high levels can cause serious environmental issues in waterways. Water treatment law requires that phosphorus be removed from wastewater streams before they are discharged into waterways. Systems and materials that can provide this service at low energy and chemical input were not available on the market. The material that was developed in INCOVER acts as a filter for phosphorus, in that it can be submerged in the water stream, extract the phosphorus over time to give levels that are far below requirement, and then be removed from the water stream to be used as a slow release phosphorus sourece and soil conditioner. This technoogy removes the phosphorus from where it is a problem and transfers it to where it is needed.
Result description
The material has a phosphorus capacity in the region on 25 g/kg, is stable in water streams for more than 12 months if necessary, and can perform with hydraulic retention times (volume of material/ flow rate of water) of between 2 – 4 hours. We know that the material works at lab and demonstration scale, however we have developed a material that requires development of a new arm of infrastructure and a new value chain. This requires partners willing to invest in further development and commercialisation of each part of the value chain. We are now interacting with end users to determine the process chain and to validate the systems. The material could be a commercial product, providing wastewater treatment plants with capacity for very low phosphorus efluent streams within 12 months.
Addressing target audiences and expressing needs
- To raise awareness and possibly influence policy
- Grants and Subsidies
- Other blended financing
- Business partners – SMEs, Entrepreneurs, Large Corporations
- Marketing Mentoring or Coaching
- Financing Expertise
- Technology Transfer Expertise
- Investor readiness training
- Investor introductions
- Executive Training
- Collaboration
- Business Angels
- Venture Capital
- Public or private funding institutions
- EU and Member State Policy-makers
- International Organisations (ex. OECD, FAO, UN, etc.)
- Other Actors who can help us fulfil our market potential
- Research and Technology Organisations
- Private Investors
Result submitted to Horizon Results Platform by AARHUS UNIVERSITET
