BENEFITS

The following table shows the value that will be achieved in 10-year time horizon according to the data obtained along the LIFE LO2X project and two different future scenarios, which have been compared with the baseline.

• BASELINE: The technology to treat sewage sludge in the Paterna WWTP remains anaerobic digestion (AD). The biological process will treat 20 Tn dm in 10 years.
• AD+SCWcO MODULE: Mixed sewage sludge generated in the Paterna WWTP will be treat by both technologies. Anaerobic digestion will treat 18 Tn dm of sewage sludge whereas a new SCWcO module will treat 2 Tn dm.
• SCWcO PLANT: A new plant of SCWcO will be built in the Paterna WWTP. This plant will be capable to treat the entirety of sewage sludge generated by Paterna WWTP.

a) Environmental benefits:

The project may be considered an adaptation measure for diffuse pollution source control as will reduce pollution of water bodies with nutrients causing eutrophication from sludge, raw/digested manure application in agriculture causing leaching of nitrates and phosphorous run off. It also contributes to reduce pollution from leachates and pesticides.
A list of estimated long capable term benefits, that depend on the two scenarios, is shown as follows:

• Treatment of dangerous wastes such as drencher wastewater from 0.3 to 2.8 Hm3.
• Reduction of nutrient: from 18 to 193 Tn NH4+ and from 6 to 62 Tn P.
• Reduction of COD: from 409 to 4,472 Tn.
• Reduction of pesticides: from 0.3 to 3 Tn.
• Reduction of pathogens from 8,674 to 9,548 CFU.
• Reduction of total solids: from 35 to 378 Tn and subsequently, 226 to 282 lorries.
• Inertisation of heavy metals: from 213 to 2,342 Tn.
• Water recovery increased: from 1.4 to 15 Hm3.
  
  

b) Economic benefits:

At general level, the development of the technology proposed in LIFE LO2X with the participation of Valencian companies located in the area should help in promoting environmental services and technology with a broad market. Therefore, high qualified employment should be promoted in the near future.
More specifically, SCWcO technology offers to the companies in charge of WWTP´s management, represented by IVEM in the LIFE Lo2x consortium, the following technic and economic advantages:

• Reduction of the economic costs of investment and operation for new and existing WWTP´s which have consider changing the current sludge management: from current WWTP to SCWcO-WWTP. Savings in running cost up to 625,000 € and in total cost up to 400,000 €, depending on the scenario.
• Treatment and valorisation in situ of a higher number of wastes: fat and oils from other WWTP units and from other wastes considered as substrate and co-substrate. Treatment of dangerous and toxic wastes (e.g., drencher wastewater) from 0.3 to 2.8 Hm3.
• Reduction of quantities of sludge to manage and their associated economical costs from 226 to 282 lorries.
• Nutrients recovery which could be put into the market as alternative to mineral fertilizers from 182 to close to 2,000 Tn of P feed stock.
• WWTP´s offers a treatment of complete mineralisation for hazardous pollutants.

It is important to note that these results have been estimated with a series of hypothesis from LIFE LO2X results.

c) Social benefits:

The implementation actions of the project are in the city of Paterna (Valencia, Spain). Paterna economy in the last decades has moved from being a town almost exclusively dedicated to agriculture into an important industrial and services centre. The current socioeconomic scenario has led to strong pressure on the water resource. The technology developed in the LIFE LO2X project, by treating toxic and hazardous waste from industrial activity and recovering a high percentage of the water present in the sludge, will improve both the quality and the availability of water.
In addition, the application of LIFE LO2X technology would allow the generation of 4 to 7 highly qualified jobs according to the scenario. It is important to keep in mind that additional indirect employment could also be generated in a collateral manner.


d) Continuation of the project actions:

The demonstration character of the LIFE LO2X project by itself is useful to promote the technology and to arouse interest in the continuation of the project actions related with technical aspects, in terms of more possible applications for wastes treatment and resource recovery. Indeed, the continuation of the technical project actions will be considered the application of LIFE LO2X technology for other kinds of toxic and hazardous wastes, as well as for the recovery of resources and energy.
On the other hand, the different actors involved in the LIFE LO2X project will play an important role in the continuation of the project's actions related to dissemination: workshops, networking actions, publications and press releases. Moreover, the website www.lo2x.com will be available as a tool for consulting information related to the evolution and results derived from the technology developed in LIFE LO2X.