Green processes for the extraction of active ingredients and the purification of waste and non-waste materials

PROGEMA

Partner

Wastewater from the oil production chain (FO) represents an ecological problem of considerable impact, especially in the Mediterranean regions, given its high polluting factor, the fact that all oil production is done in a limited period of time and the high consumption of water in the washing processes. The main polluting chemical components are also the substances of great interest due to their potential application in the health sector.

Summary

The project aims to implement a process innovation on FO wastewaters that allows: a) the extraction and utilization of pharmacologically active organic compounds, b) the abatement of their polluting power c) the possible reuse of the treated water in production processes.

The possibility of energy recovery during the phases of treatment of wastewaters through photocatalytic processes will also be evaluated.

Therefore, the main expected result consists in the design and construction of two integrated, innovative and sustainable prototype plants: one will exploit the more efficient and compact technologies such as subcritical water extraction and purification with supercritical water and/or photo-Fenton system, and other will use environmentally sustainable technologies such as microalgae extraction and solar photocatalysis purification.