CIRQUA: Integrated Approaches at Local Scale for Enhancing Water Reuse Efficiency and Sustainable Soil Fertilization from Wastewater’s Recovered Nutrients


Köker Demo L., Albay M., Akçaalan Albay R., Oğuz Çam A., Özyurt D.

UFUK 2020 Projesi, H2020 Araştırma Altyapı Projeleri, 2024 - 2027

  • Proje Türü: UFUK 2020 Projesi
  • Destek Programı: H2020 Araştırma Altyapı Projeleri
  • Başlama Tarihi: Nisan 2024
  • Bitiş Tarihi: Nisan 2027

Proje Özeti

CIRQUA aims to improve nature-based solutions (NBS), focusing on constructed wetlands (CWs) for wastewater treatment and water recovery in rural areas. These solutions are widely-used, safe, decentralized, easy to operate and environmentally-friendly. They can help meet the strict legislative EU requirements, increasing water efficiency and conserving water resources in the Mediterranean region, advancing resilience in view of Climate Change challenges. They can also valorize non-conventional nutrient resources for precision irrigation and fertilization, which is a pillar of sustainable agriculture. CIRQUA will upgrade CWs using technological achievements, such as innovative nanostructured filters and photocatalytic modules, cultivation of N2-fixing legumes, sensors and automation in operation, precision irrigation principles and integration of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools. These innovations will aid improve effluent quality, allowing the treated water and CW biomass to be used for irrigation and fertilization purposes, thus promoting circular economy at local scale.