On April 17th 2024, 7 partners of HEU Mission project INSPIRE visited the Slovenian demo site location to determine plans for implementation of technologies for treatment of microplastics in wastewater.
Representatives from VLIZ, University of Maribor (UM), CleraOne, Waste & Water (WnW), DELVEC, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and Infordata all attended the visit at the demo site in Domžale, where the meeting was hosted by the public company Central Wastewater Treatment plant (WWTP) Domžale-Kamnik.
INSPIRE partners and representatives of the Domžale WWTP discussed the technical parameters for implementing the cascade solution for treatment of microplastics at the WWTP effluent. INSPIRE partners will install a system allowing for pilot testing of 4 connected technologies, namely the EcoPlex Microplastic Remover device by WnW, the membrane filtration unit by CleraOne, the SUPER-TW-NET filter by DELVEC, and the photocatalytic reactor by KTH.
The technologies of CLERA and DELVEC will be installed in parallel to test different treatment routes. The system will be digitalized for real-time monitoring of several parameters by Infordata. The effectiveness of the system through sampling will be evaluated by VLIZ for microplastics and Fresenius University for nanoplastics, while the sustainability assessment will be conducted by UM. CleraOne will collaborate with the facility to install the equipment as the demo site leader in Slovenia.
A tour of the WWTP facility enabled the INSPIRE partners to view the exact locations for implementation of technologies, as well as to determine the sampling points. Results of analysis from the specified sampling points will enable validatation of technology effectiveness at removing microplastic litter.
The technical meeting resulted in a detailed plan for technology installation, testing and sampling timelines, as well as training of technicians who will operate the devices. The partners look forward to the collaboration with the WWTP in Domžale to effectively test and showcase these innovative solutions for microplastics removal from wastewater, and to provide future outlooks on microplastic treatment.
