Omya is currently participating in the EU-funded Salteau project as one of six partners, each bringing specific expertise to the project. The Salteau project is part of the LIFE Programme, operated by the European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency, whose objectives are to meet the targets on the European Green Deal, by shifting towards a circular, energy-efficient, and climate resilient economy. The aim of the five-year project Salteau, is to increase water production from alternative sources such as seawater brine, brackish water and wastewater, capturing valuable compounds in the process.
Water scarcity affects 70% of people in southern Europe and the situation is getting worse because of climate change. Only 1% of water on earth is available as ‘fresh’ water (the rest is in the oceans or frozen in glaciers or ice caps) but even then, much of it is tied up in waste or brackish water. To reduce water scarcity, it is essential to harness the potential of these alternative water resources (AWR) which are currently underused in the EU.
Nicholas Nelson, Director Innovation and Technical Marketing Water & Air and Consumer Solutions at Omya said, “Alternative water resources such as seawater brine, brackish and wastewater are reliable sources, but their use has been limited by cost and quality issues. This project will not only develop methods of producing fresh water but will also enable the recovery of critical materials from the water. Circularity is an important theme for Omya and extracting minerals from brine will reduce EU reliance on other countries for essential resources such as magnesium.”
Salteau is expected to produce around 400,000 m3 of freshwater at two pilot sites in Tenerife and Alicante, whilst also recovering 140 tonnes of calcium and magnesium. The cutting-edge technologies developed will be scaled up and integrated with renewable energy sources before being rolled out to further water treatment plants.
Nicholas Nelson continues, “Each Salteau partner brings specific expertise to the project and, as the market leader for industrial minerals, Omya is excited to be involved. We have technology and experience in synthetic mineral precipitation and the remineralization of desalinated water, so are leading the work packages on the extraction of calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide from seawater brines and supporting the work packages on the exploitation of the extracted minerals. Our proprietary and patented OARP (Omya Advanced Remineralization Process) technology will be used for the remineralization of drinking water using micronized calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide.”
Omya’s technical team for water is currently working on in-house testing for the optimization and design of the extraction process. The results will be used to design and construct the mineral extraction pilot unit that will be installed at the Tenerife site.
Nicholas Nelson concludes, “Harnessing alternative water sources such as seawater brine will increase water availability in regions where scarcity is becoming a life-threatening issue. This fits Omya’s purpose which is to make life better through our passion for minerals and chemistry. Salteau will do just that.”
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