IRIS: A Bio-Composite Vessel to Revolutionize Water Treatment

IRIS is participating in the BIOntier project as the lead for Use Case No. 6 (UC6).

In this case, the project involves the use of a bio-composite as part of a system, replacing an element normally made of stainless steel or fiberglass. This element is the vessel containing the membranes used in a water treatment system, such as ultrafiltration or, depending on the type of membrane, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, etc.

This vessel containing the membranes is the heart of a treatment system, which otherwise consists of standard water flow management elements, such as pipes, valves, pumps, etc.

Currently, in collaboration with BCM, the characteristics of the materials to be used are being studied: essentially, a matrix of natural plastic material will be used with the addition of natural fibres to increase its tensile strength.

In the case of UC6, the above materials are:

• Plastic material: polylactic acid (PLA)

• Fibers: hemp fibers

Small amounts of additives such as polycaprolactam (PCL), bio-stearates, and graphene oxide (GO/rGO) are being added.

TECNALIA is currently working on the production of narrow-width tapes made from the above-mentioned materials, which will be the starting point for the vessel's construction through a winding process.

Future developments include the manufacturing of the vessel and the vessel's closing heads (FORTH responsible).

IRIS will build the entire water treatment system, of which the vessel will be an integral part.

A final pressure test will be performed on the complete system.