GREENLYSIS - Hydrogen and oxygen
production via electrolysis powered by
renewable energies to reduce environmental
footprint of a WWTP
LIFE08 ENV/E/000118
Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data R e a d m o r e Contact details:
Project Manager: Alexandre GALI
Email: [email protected]
Project description:
Background
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) often rely on carbon-based fuels to power
the aeration systems involved in purifying the water. Opportunities have been
identified to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of both the water
purification and WWTP power supply processes. Objectives
The GREENLYSIS project aimed to build a pilot WWTP plant to design and
demonstrate a new technology for separating water into hydrogen and oxygen
using electrolysis. The full-scale pilot plant incorporated wastewater
pre-treatment; water purification; an electrolysis unit; oxygen storage; hydrogen
storage; a pilot biological reactor fed with oxygen from the electrolysis stage; a
photovoltaic, wind and thermal solar energy system, and an energy management
system. The aim was to use oxygen released from the water during electrolysis in
the purification of the waste stream, and the hydrogen produced by the
electrolysis to power the treatment plant. Key goals involved reducing WWTP
energy inputs and identifying a viable alternative to carbon-fuelled WWTP
systems. Results
The GREENLYSIS project gathered different innovative technologies and
combined them to construct a prototype plant, able to produce hydrogen and
oxygen using wastewater coming from an urban wastewater treatment plant
(WWTP). The core process was the electrolysis and the entire plant was fed with
renewable energy. The data obtained demonstrated the technical viability of the
entire pilot plant to produce hydrogen and oxygen using only renewable energy. GREENLYSIS designed, constructed and operated its pilot plant in the wastewater
treatment plant (WWTP) of Montornès del Vallès (Barcelona, Spain). The plant
comprised a water pre-treatment system, an electrolysis step, and a biological
reactor to use the oxygen produced. The system was powered entirely by a
renewable energy system (solar and wind), an energy storage unit comprising
several batteries, and an energy management system that enabled the energy
generated to a d a p t t o en e rg y d e m a n d . The project was technically challenging and innovative because it involved the
combination of several novel technologies, coupled to a system of energy
production totally independent of the national grid. The project team showed
that WWTP effluent could be used for the electrolysis needed in a first
pre-treatment to remove solids and turbidity in wastewater. Oxygen was
produced (with purity higher than 95%) from the WWTP effluent electrolysis, and
tests showed that potential energy savings could be obtained from the use of the
oxygen in an industrial WWTP (for secondary wastewater treatment). Hydrogen
was also produced (purity higher than 99%) and has been used in a combustion
engine to run a vehicle (motorbike). The project designed and implemented a renewable energy system (photovoltaic
and thermal solar panels, and a wind turbine) for off-grid energy production,
which largely met the energy requirements of the plant. Recent technologies of
known efficiency were tested and adjusted to the project’s requirements. These
included membrane distillation of WWTP effluent using thermal solar energy to
produce deionised water, and a refrigeration system for photovoltaic solar
panels. The project developed its own automatic energy manager system to
optimise the management of energy generation with respect to demand, and for
battery storage and discharge. The operation of the pilot plant helped identify the main technical and financial
constraints that could limit the application of the technology in the short-term,
and helped define some solutions. Guidelines for the future implementation and
reproduction of the project system at industrial scale were developed, and
recommendations for improvements made, which are available to anyone
interested in the project. Environmental benefits derive mainly from the
production of hydrogen from wastewater and renewable energy. More energy is
produced than used in the process (as the hydrogen and oxygen generated can
be used in the WWTP). The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the whole system
are very low, with the carbon footprint estimated to be only 35kg CO2eq/year.
The wider environmental benefits will only become obvious if the technology is
applied on a large scale, which is unlikely in the near future. The overall system was found to be technically feasible, but not economically
viable at this point. However, parts of the project system are likely to be
transferable in the short term, especially the renewable energy system and the
energy manager system. For example, an isolated renewable electric grid based
on that of the project is under construction in Aguas de Murcia (Spain) to power
a pump installed in a well, while the beneficiary SAFT has used knowledge
obtained during the project to develop an improved battery charger system.
The project generated technical and management tools that will help in the
future implementation of EU legislation regarding wastewater treatment. The
knowledge and experience gained will also be valuable for other uses and
applications. Project beneficiary CETaqua, for example, gained considerable
know-how on the purification of wastewater to generate hydrogen for energy, via
electrolysis using renewable energy. The outputs of the project are of notable
value at EU level in the eco-innovation fields of water treatment and membrane
technology.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report
and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
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Environmental issues addressed:
Themes
Water - Waste water treatment
Climate change Mitigation - GHG reduction in EU ETS sectors
Keywords
waste water treatment‚ climate change mitigation Natura 2000 sites
Not applicable
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Beneficiaries:
Coordinator
Type of organisation
Description
Partners
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CETaqua, Centro Tecnológico del Agua
Research institution
The coordinating beneficiary, CETaqua, “Water
Technology Centre”, is a non-profit
organisation focusing on research in
water-related issues. Saft Baterias, Spain CIRSEE, France Administrative data:
Project reference
Duration
Total budget
EU contribution
Project location
LIFE08 ENV/E/000118
01-JAN-2010 to 31-DEC -2012
1,594,833.00 €
797,416.00 €
Cataluña(España)
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Read more:
Project web site
Publication: After-LIFE
Communication Plan
Publication: Layman report
Publication: Technical report
Video link
Video link
Project's website
Title: After-LIFE Communication Plan No of
pages: 9 Title: Layman report Editor: CETaqua No of
pages: 16 Title: Project's Final technical report Year: 2013
No of pages: 59 Project's video (8')
Project's video (8')
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Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data R e a d m o r e