The Faculty of Mining and Geology investigates water desalination within the international project, REWAISE
The Faculty of Mining and Geology at VSB-Technical University of Ostrava is participating in a five-year EU project financed by the prestigious EU Programme, HORIZON 2020. The REWAISE (REsilient WAter Innovation for Smart Economy) project connects leading European research and water management institutions, both from the industrial sector and academia. There are 24 entities from 11 European countries involved in the project.
Professor Vladimír Slivka of the Faculty of Mining and Geology (FMG) , is the principal investigator of the REWAISE project at VSB-Technical University of Ostrava (VSB-TUO). His team are investigating water desalination using electrodialysis. Silvie Heviánková, one of the project investigators, explains: “Our laboratories are equipped for water and mine water desalination. In the end, we obtain two products, the first is a salt concentrate, and the second is a dilute solution, free of salts, which can be further processed. In this way, we are also able to produce drinking water from mine water”.
Researchers are currently testing new membranes which have been supplied to FMG VSB-TUO by the Spanish company FCC AQUALIA, S. A. The team meets regularly online to discuss the project tasks, activities, and progress, and despite the pandemic, the project is progressing well. Other activities that are being carried out with other project partners can also be coordinated in this way. These project partners also share various facilities and components required for ongoing testwork.
The project, which will end in 2025, will link nine European “Living Labs” into three centres. The Living Laboratory in Ostrava has yet to be established. Jiří Mališ, another project investigator explains: “We will install a semi-automatic facility in the field, ideally in a site where mine water is pumped, which will be beneficial in preventing saline water from contaminating the environment”. In the Living Lab various membranes and operational regimes will be tested. Silvie Heviánková adds: “We need to identify what end products we will be able to obtain from mine water using our facility. We may be able to obtain minerals of a commercial value, and the recovered water may be used as a water supply for the general public and also as a source of geothermal energy – mine water is usually warm and thus there may be a range of options”. The project also brings new possibilities for further cooperation – both researchers and industrial enterprises are approaching FMG with topics which they are eager to pursue in the near future.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 869496.