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2024-12-03
Adasa has shown at the recent edition of CONAMA how it can help companies to comply with the stricter provisions of the recent revision of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) on the control of critical nutrients in wastewater, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P).
Why is it necessary to control these effluents? Because the presence of an excess of phosphorus and nitrogen cause eutrophication in the environment and its consequence is an excessive increase of primary production which causes:
The consequences include water purification problems, loss of biodiversity, health problems and social impact.
Although there are numerous solutions on the market for nutrient measurement, these technologies often present:
Adasa's solution: DopletSenseDopletSense is a compact nano-droplet based microfluidic detection system for parameters such as ammonium/ammonia, nitrate/nitrite and ortho-phosphates. In practice, it means taking the lab to the water thanks to features such as:
Experience in effluent measurement around the worldAdasa has extensive experience in the implementation of solutions for the control of critical nutrients in wastewater in projects developed around the world:
1. Petersfield WWTP (UK): Dropletsense equipment was installed in the WWTP effluent to verify treatment efficiency and compliance with legal discharge limits by measuring ammonia nitrogen. This allowed a better understanding of load changes and optimized process control.
2. Itchen River (Southhampton, UK): The Dropletsense monitoring system in this habitat with protected species and affected by daily tides, allows the detection of key events that affect the health of the river, such as wastewater discharges or overflows due to heavy rains. It guarantees an accuracy of over 90% and analyzes TON (Nitrate + Nitrite) up to 50 mg/L, adapting to brackish waters with conductivities up to 10 dS/m. This monitoring contributes to the sustainable management of natural resources and the protection of biodiversity in demanding environments.
3. Ebro River (Ballobar, Spain): The Dropletsense measurement system was validated in terms of accuracy and autonomy to monitor nitrate levels in the river. The system presented an accuracy of over 90%, ensuring that the measurements were valid and maintaining a service interval of one month.
4. Mar Menor Aquifer (Cartagena, Spain): This is a pilot test comparing various nitrate measurement systems for groundwater monitoring, all systems are installed in the same location and with the same sample. This will allow testing the reliability of the measurements and maintenance operations for 1 year. An accuracy of more than 90% will be demonstrated with minimal maintenance operations (only one reagent change operation in the 12 months).
The Sporemed project will integrate the measurement of nitrate/nitrite and phosphate in a single device. In addition, eco-design and cybersecurity criteria will be incorporated in its design.
