REACT is implementing a waste management system to prevent the release of post-recycling process pollutants.

REACT project’s goal is to mechanically recycle acrylic fabrics from the production or end-of-life of awnings, specifically addressing the removal of the hazardous substances on the fabrics.

Wastewater treatment is strongly linked to the finishing removal process. Throughout this phase, the REACT consortium collected a number of wastewater samples and detected a substantial degree of water pollution: common tests such as Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Total Suspend Solid (TSS) assessed a high concentration of pollutants due to the presence of high-impact compounds featuring considerable oxygen values requirements for degradation. If not properly treated, these pollutants can contribute to the eutrophication of groundwater and affect the ecosystem of lakes, rivers, and seas.

REACT partners CENTROCOT and Parà, with the support of PIECO, are at work on a water purification system to be used on the detected pollutants. The project will evaluate the potential of the sludge already in use at the Parà treatment plant for post-removal wastewater treatment. In case the sludge should prove unable to treat such water, new micro-organisms will be added to improve the purification efficiency; the development of a special membrane and the reverse osmosis ultrafiltration process refined by consortium partner Soft Chemicals will contribute to advance active biodegradation, leading to pure treated wastewater, comparable to the urban one.

The aim is to develop an efficient water purification plant to avoid the contamination of water systems during the finishing removal and eventually reuse the water from the treating process and/or release non-polluting water in the environment.