THE ATMOSPHAIR PROJECT SEEKS TO ANTICIPATE THE GENERATION OF ODOROUS AND WINTER-EFFECT GASES IN EDARS USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The project aims to predict and mitigate emissions, both of odoriferous gases and of gases with a greenhouse effect, in sanitation networks and wastewater treatment plants. The project has a duration of 10 months and the technological solution will be implemented at the EDAR facilities in Torredembarra (Tarragona)

The research, coordinated by the Catalan Water Partnership (CWP), seeks to predict and mitigate the emissions of both odorous gases and greenhouse gases in sanitation networks and wastewater treatment plants. The starting point of the project is that wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a considerable anthropogenic source of odorous gas emissions, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and ammonia (NH3), as well as greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).

Therefore, emission prediction and the subsequent optimization of the processes involved in the generation of these gases, through the use of new digitization technologies, can represent a leap in quality to solve this historical problem.

N2O can represent up to 80% of the carbon footprint of a WWTP, so the project will mainly focus on the prediction and minimization of this gas with artificial intelligence tools. Additionally, it is also necessary to predict and optimize the processes involved in the management of odoriferous gases, whose energy consumption can amount to up to 15-20% of the consumption of a WWTP in large plants”, explain the participants to the project.

The project has a duration of 10 months and the technological solution will be implemented at the EDAR facilities in Torredembarra (Tarragona), designed for 92,100 equivalent inhabitants and administered by the DAM Group together with Sorigué.

The consortium made up of Sorigué, Depuració d’Aigües del Mediterrani S.L. (DAM), AERIS Tecnologies Ambientals S.L., BGEO OPEN GIS S.L. and SPIN S.A. develops this research under the coordination of the Catalan Association for Innovation and Internationalization of the Water Sector, Catalan Water Partnership (CWP). The research (AEI-010500-2022B-8) has been co-financed by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (MINCOTUR) in the second call for grants to Innovative Business Groups (AEIs) in 2022 as part of Next Generation grants and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.