02 February 2023

On January 30-31 2023 we celebrated the kick off meeting of a new and challenging project: SUSTAINABLE MEMBRANE DISTILLATION FOR INDUSTRIAL WATER REUSE AND DECENTRALISED DESALINATION APPROACHING ZERO WASTE which brings together a consortium of 18 partners from 9 European Union countries, plus Switzerland and Israel, and coordinated by Politecnico di Torino (Italy), officially took off in Turin.

MEloDIZER implements high-performance membranes and modules in strategic applications of membrane distillation (MD), hence providing the decisive step for the success of MD. Our rationale is that the next-generation of membranes should be characterised by feasible designs and materials. We will prioritise approaches that are scalable within the framework of the project and focus specifically on sustainability, extension of service life, and end-of-life issues. MEloDIZER will address these design issues carefully, via both modelling and experimental work, to provide new knowledge about the best combination and maximisation of module parameters suitable for high-end applications, as well as improved module structures. Our modules will simultaneously increase thermal efficiency and productivity through smart geometry, arrangements, spacers, and energy recovery strategies.

“With this project, we will demonstrate the next generation of the technology, considering its performance and energy efficiency, but also from the point of view of the sustainability of the materials and the type of energy resources used to power the systems, thus demonstrating their implementation for the reduction of water footprint of industries and for the supply of drinking water in areas subject to severe drought” says Prof. Alberto Tiraferri, associate professor of the Department of Environmental, Land and Infrastructure Engineering-DIATI at Politecnico di Torino and project coordinator together with Prof. Matteo Fasano of the Department of Energy-DENERG. At Politecnico di Torino, the interdepartmental center CleanWaterCenter@Polito will host the laboratories which, thanks to the contribution of the European Union, will develop some of the prototypes of this innovative technology for the sustainable treatment of water.

The MEloDIZER project, funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe program (grant agreement n° 101091915 – topic HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04-04) with a contribution of more than 7 million euros (of which 1.4 million euros to Politecnico di Torino), will have a duration of 4 years.