SMARTWATER
Sustainable Management of Aquatic Resources for Textile Waste
Scheda del progetto
The textile sector represents a significant challenge in terms of environmental impact and sustainability. In the north-west region of Italy, the textile industry is a strength, but the adoption of sustainable practices is still limited. SMARTWATER aims to introduce advanced technologies for water reuse in the textile industry. The project will be aimed at building a modular system for water reuse in the textile sector that will allow up to 70% water savings and up to 35% energy savings for the treatment of wastewater and the recovery of chemicals that can be reused. This will be accompanied by Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for real-time monitoring of the substances in the treated water.
Contact:
Maurizio Bettiga, maurizio.bettiga@italbiotec.it
On 30 March 2022, the European Commission (EC) unveiled the EU sustainability strategy for the textile sector. It emerged that textile consumption is a major driver of environmental impact and climate change, as well as having a significant impact on global water and land use.
These negative effects stem from a linear production model that lacks reuse and recycling and sustainable resource management. Circular transformation in the textile sector is crucial for the development of companies and territories that avoid the exploitation of exhaustible natural resources.
SMARTWATER is based on an international level of innovation, with solutions developed through a portfolio of European and international patents.
- Through quantitative estimates based on the volumes of the case study and by comparing reuse and non-reuse scenarios, it is expected that replication of the SMARTWATER solution could lead to a reduction of over 62,000 m3/day in groundwater consumption. Furthermore, the introduction of circularity in the water cycle offers the opportunity to effectively recirculate other associated resources, such as heat and chemicals.
- Optimisation of treatment procedures will allow selective targeting of specific pollutants in wastewater while preserving other chemicals, leading to resource savings.
SMARTWATER represents an innovative solution for small textile companies interested in water reuse.