CisWEFE-NEX Circular Systemic Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus CCRI Demonstrator for Regions facing Severe Water Stress.

Summary

Contributing to the CCRI project portfolio, CisWEFE-NEX will demonstrate the implementation of a circular systemic WEFE Nexus, an innovative, fully integrated, & sustainable approach applying the principles of circular economy for closing loops in the key value chains of food, water & nutrients in severely water stressed regions:
1. Water:
- A net positive freshwater balance to the water cycle (JRC 2021) will be achieved through combining olive mill wastewater reuse (as a co-product from biophenols extraction) with saltwater desalination at scale without using fossil fuels for use as drinking & irrigation water.
- Waste streams from desalination (brine & bitterns) will be repurposed in nature-based solar saltworks as table & Epsom salt, made possible because of zero chemical use in the desalination process.
2. Energy:
- Cutting-edge renewable energy technologies will be developed & demonstrated to achieve a net-zero direct fossil GHG emissions process.
- Agri-photovoltaics (crops under PV panels) and biogas from advanced (ultrasonic cavitation assisted) anaerobic digestion fed from olive mill & other biowastes.
3. Food:
- Innovative nature-based techniques will be demonstrated to enable truly sustainable, healthy, and fresh food & seaweed (containing bioactive compounds for pharma use) production at scale.
- Saltwater integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (free of growth hormones, antibiotics, synthetic fertilisers, & preservatives).
- Regenerative agriculture (organic permaculture reusing precious water & nutrients) and extractive reuse of biophenols from olive mill waste as bioactive products of very high nutri-pharmaceutical value.
4. Ecosystems:
- Monitoring of traditional & emerging (micro)pollutants using cutting-edge analytics will prevent harmful impacts on the environment & food grown from it with predictive alerts & remedies through a mobile controlled cavitation unit providing (waste)water treatment services (advanced oxidation processes, disinfection).

Resources Show all and search (0)

Unfold all

Fold all

More information & hyperlinks

Web resources:	https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101135062
Start date:	01-06-2024
End date:	31-05-2029
Total budget - Public funding:	11 084 718,22 Euro - 9 659 285,00 Euro