Aigües de Barcelona starts river water treatment pilot in Barcelona

Enschede, the Netherlands, 11 January 2022

Aigües de Barcelona, the public-private company responsible for managing the water cycle in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, Spain, starts a series of pilot projects with NX Filtration’s direct nanofiltration membranes. The objective of the first pilot project is to treat water from the Llobregat river in Barcelona to produce drinking water.

Since Barcelona is situated in a water stressed and densely populated region, Aigües de Barcelona has identified the direct nanofiltration (dNF) membranes of NX Filtration as an innovative technology that can significantly simplify the treatment of their surface waters. These surface waters have posed challenges due to their variability in quality, mainly due to seasonal impacts. The pilot will target the reduction of processing steps, reduced energy and chemicals consumption and attend to the problem of limited space. As such, Aigües de Barcelona aims for more production of drinking water with less resources through achieving better recoveries with a smaller footprint than the current conventional technologies used.

Eva León González, Innovation, Investigation and Technology Manager at Aigües de Barcelona, comments: “Compared to conventional water treatment technologies, direct nanofiltration could provide high quality water whilst reducing the number of filtration steps, thus simplifying the treatment of surface water and saving space. In addition, this technology also provides various advantages in terms of sustainability, as it reduces energy consumption and avoids the use of pre-treatment chemicals. Partnerships are key for Aigües de Barcelona to promote innovation aimed at realizing social and environmental impact.”

Alejandro Roman, Chief Commercial Officer at NX Filtration, comments: “We are proud to deploy our unique direct nanofiltration membranes for Aigües de Barcelona. Our technology is highly effective in removing micropollutants while allowing the passage of minerals that are desirable in drinking water. Jointly we are also exploring other sites and applications for deploying our technology in addressing water quality and water availability challenges. Wastewater reuse being one area already planned into this piloting campaign with Aigües de Barcelona.”

The pilot campaign is based on NX Filtration’s full-scale “Mexpert” pilot system and is expected to run for approximately 15 months. Aigües de Barcelona continues to promote innovation projects through partnerships to advance the ecological and social transition, prepare for future challenges and improve the quality of life of people and the health of the planet.

About NX Filtration

NX Filtration is a provider of direct nanofiltration membrane technology for producing pure and affordable water to improve quality of life. Its direct nanofiltration technology removes micropollutants (including pharmaceuticals, medicines, PFAS and insecticides), colour and selective salts, but also bacteria, viruses and nanoplastics, from water in one step whilst offering strong sustainability benefits. For further information on NX Filtration please visit www.nxfiltration.com

About Aigües de Barcelona

Aigües de Barcelona manages the complete water cycle: from catchment to drinking water treatment, transport and distribution, in addition to sewerage, wastewater treatment and reclamation, either for return to the natural environment or reuse. Committed to people and the planet, the company serves almost 3 million citizens from the municipalities of Barcelona metropolitan area, and works with the clear aim of improving the quality of life of people and making cities a better place in which to live. Driven by water, we are changing the future.