Ángel Rivero Falcón, candidate young researcher from ITC, travelled to Évora, Portugal, during the last week of March to visit the pilot plant developed through the Joint Research Activity (JRA) of the SOL2H2O project.
The visit was hosted by project partners at the University of Évora (UÉvora), who welcomed Ángel to the facilities and provided a comprehensive overview of the pilot system, which integrates several innovative technologies contributed by different project partners.
The pilot plant combines photovoltaic-powered reverse osmosis (PV-RO) developed by ITC, membrane distillation (MD) from CIEMAT, and a multi-feed plug flow reactor (MF-PFR) from UNIPA (University of Palermo), demonstrating a modular and collaborative approach to sustainable water treatment and resource recovery.
During his stay, Ángel played an active role in the commissioning of the MD unit, addressing common start-up challenges and contributing technical support during the system’s initial testing phase. The first trial involved processing saline water designed to simulate pre-treated reverse osmosis (RO) brine, primarily composed of sodium chloride (NaCl). These tests are essential for validating the system’s performance and optimizing operational parameters.
Ángel’s hands-on collaboration with researchers from UÉvora facilitated notable progress in preparing the system for subsequent commissioning stages and long-term operation. His visit marked a key milestone in the implementation of the SOL2H2O project, reinforcing the importance of cross-institutional cooperation in advancing sustainable desalination and circular water use.
This initiative is part of the scope of project Sol2H2O – European Twinning for research in Solar energy to (2) water (H2O) production and treatment technologies, funded by the European Commission through Horizon Europe GA Nr. 101079305.
Sol2H20 project is integrated into the DESAL+ Living Lab Platform, a collaborative research and innovation ecosystem focused on advancing desalination technologies and their integration into sustainable water management solutions.
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