IMPROVED

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Research by the European Commission shows that Flanders and the Netherlands could reuse roughly 10 times the amount of water they currently reuse. Water is an essential resource for the chemical industry in the seaports of Zeeland, Ghent and Antwerp. The (chemical) industry is an extremely important economic activity in these ports, but faces water problems to an increasing extent. This includes a dwindling supply of fresh water. Consequently, the key to more sustainable water use to a considerable extent is in the hands of the large-scale chemical industry in the port areas. The University of Ghent is therefore initiating Improved. This project aims to build up the infrastructure with which research is conducted into wastewater treatment from various water sources. The research infrastructure is being intensively tested by a number of big industrial players, which are joining in the project and will be applying technology at their own sites: BASF Antwerp, Yara Sluikskil BV, DOW Benelux BV and Evides Industriewater BV. The proposed purification plant must be state of the art, mobile and plug and play. This will enable examination of the dynamics of variable source water quality and its influence on the production process, so that companies can develop water management around their own sites. This has all been made possible by an integrated, cross-border approach in which the expertise of not only the chemical industry, process water suppliers and technology suppliers, but also the academic sector in Flanders and the Netherlands plays a major role.

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