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CPI, an independent technology innovation centre and founding member of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, has announced its participation in Waste2Fresh, a multinational project to improve the sustainability of textile manufacturing.

The project aims to deliver a smart, innovative system to recycle wastewater from textile manufacturing processes, which could help solve major global industrial and environmental challenges.

According to the World Bank Group (2019), the textile manufacturing industry is responsible for 20% of global industrial water pollution from dyeing and treating fabric.

The wastewater associated with these processes, which is often left untreated and discharged into the surrounding environment, can release toxic chemicals and heavy metals harmful to flora, fauna and local human populations.

Waste2Fresh is a project coordinated by Konya Technical University in Turkey and led by a multinational consortium of 17 industrial and academic partners collaborating on the development, demonstration and commercialisation of an eco-friendly closed-loop system for the textile manufacturing industry.

The closed-loop system will integrate novel catalytic degradation approaches with highly selective separation and extraction techniques to remove environmental contaminants and reuse ~95% wastewater for industrial processes.

Ultimately, widespread adoption of the Waste2Fresh solution could lead to considerable environmental gains with the potential to be adopted by other industrial sectors.

Waste2Fresh is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program.

It has already gained attention from stakeholders outside of the consortium willing to provide support when a large-scale demonstrator of the Waste2Fresh system is finalised.

CPI will play a key role in bringing together the technology providers and textile manufacturing companies across Europe while also providing expertise in process engineering (from plant design to installation and operation) and scale-up of water treatment catalysts. All components and subsystems will be combined using a systems approach led by process engineering expertise at CPI.

Dr Tony Jackson, Formulation Director at CPI, said:

“I am delighted that CPI is joining such an exciting new collaborative project with the potential to help solve a major industrial and environmental challenge.

“Waste2Fresh highlights the importance of collaborative development approaches to help reduce freshwater pollution.”

Richard Burke, Technical Project Manager for the Project, Nanofique Ltd., said:

“We are excited to be launching the Waste2Fresh project.

“The global textile manufacturing industry urgently needs cost-effective and sustainable wastewater management solutions that do not endanger the natural environment.”

CPI