CHEM-FREE - Development of a chemical-free water treatment system through integrating fibre filters, ultrasound and UV-C

The CHEM-FREE project proposes development of a process control instrument to integrate and optimise three well known physical water treatment devices: fibre filter, ultrasound and UV-C. Both lab-scale and pilot-scale research and validation will be performed to combine, arrange and steer efficiency of physical and biological processes. The resulting integrated technology must combine the economic and ecological advantages of all the individual devices to achieve targeted application in specific water qualities without the use of chemicals. Lab-scale experiments regarding microbiological decontamination and removal of algae will result in better understanding of the principal removal mechanisms to decrease the microbiological contamination for the applications using the individual devices and their combinations to determine the optimal operational parameters. The applied experiments include different raw water qualities and requirements for the treated water. Four types of field-scale applications will be investigated within the project: closed-loop water systems, crop irrigation, fish farming and groundwater recharge. The legal regulations, technical standards, market and operational requirements of the potential uses will be analysed for integration into the prototype development process. The main output of the CHEM-FREE project will be a prototype and technical specification as basis for patent registration for a process control instrument allowing integration and optimisation of the three devices as an integral unit. The optimal integration and control of fibre filters, ultrasound devices, and UV-C sets will result in chemical-free water treatment enabling ecologically prevention of algae, prevention of biofilm growth on walls, in pipelines, on fittings and in containers and completely new solutions for sensitive water treatment systems where chemicals are an unsatisfying solution like drinking water production from surface waters, groundwater recharge, etc.