The novel holistic conceptual treatment system of LOTUSHR has been developed in co-creation with a broad consortium of NGO’s, governmental agencies, universities and research institutes, companies and end-users in both India and The Netherlands.
The technologies used in LOTUSHR have been chosen carefully to ensure they could be rapidly implemented due to their high Technology Readiness Level and offer opportunities for cost-effective innovations and fundamental scientific research. Additionally, the treatment systems are designed to be compact and robust to fit in densely populated urban environment.
The research is realized in (overlapping) two stages: laboratory and small scale pilot studies in India and in the Netherlands (year 0-4) and pilot studies in India (year 3–5). The research in LOTUSHR is divided in three research lines:
Towards socially accepted and safe water reuse
Safe and socially accepted water reuse is going to make LOTUSHR successful. Therefore, socially acceptable water reuse safety strategies, suitable for megacities are being developed. Water reuse strategies and guidelines can be formulated by exploring and understanding the institutional boundaries, human perceptions and health risks associated with water reuse.
Sewage pre-treatment and energy recovery
The first important step for water reuse is removing the organic particles from the water. Robust separation technologies are combined with anaerobic digestion basted systems that can adapt to the ever changing qualities in urban water systems. The anaerobic systems will produce biogas that can be used to generate energy to partially power the pre-treatment.
Post treatment: effluent polishing and nutrient recovery
The second step is the production of high quality water, from the pre-treated water that is fit for reuse. The pre-treated water contains a lot of nutrients that can be and should be recovered. The Vital urban filters and Algae photo bioreactors are developed to biologically remove contaminants, pathogens and nutrients from the water. Nutrients can be recovered in the form of fertilisers and plant based materials generated by the installations.
