Facsa presents innovative solutions to address new environmental challenges at the IDEAS 2023 Conference

The challenges facing 21st-century society, in its third decade, continue to grow, threaten, and generate debate. In this context, a new edition of the IDEAS 2023 Conference was held in Bilbao this week under the theme "Solutions for New Environmental Challenges," organized by the Spanish Association of Water Supply and Sanitation (AEAS) and hosted by the Bilbao Bizkaia Water Consortium (CABB).

The R&D team of FacsaGrupo Gimeno, a company specializing in the management of the integral water cycle, has played a leading role in this meeting through different presentations focused on projects such as LIFE AMIA, REWACER, or BIOFERES that address some of the biggest challenges that humanity currently faces: water, climate and energy.

First of all, Isabel Tormos, R&D Project Manager of Gimeno Group[Name omitted] presented the benefits of the REWACER project in a presentation focused on adapting to climate change through wastewater reuse as a new water source for the ceramics sector. Meanwhile, Rubén García Tirado, R&D&I Technician, analyzed key aspects of advanced nutrient recovery from sewage sludge for the production of value-added agricultural products through the BIOFERES project—a highly relevant and increasingly important topic.

In the session dedicated to energy-related aspects in the water sector, Miguel Roldán, R&D&I technician, had the opportunity to present Gaia, a project with which the company seeks to generate new renewable fuels from bioelectroconversion technologies of carbon dioxide and wastewater streams, thereby reducing carbon emissions and the environmental impact of the facilities it manages.

Elena Zuriaga, Head of R&D&I at Grupo Gimeno, also gave a presentation focusing on the importance of the circular economy in the water sector, emphasizing water regeneration, nutrient recovery, and biogas production. In this context, Zuriaga analyzed the key aspects of the European LIFE AMIA project, through which Facsa aims to address environmental problems related to the current low rate of wastewater reuse by wastewater treatment plants in Europe, as well as reduce the energy consumption of the treatment process.

It is worth noting that Hydrens, Facsa's consulting firm specializing in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), was also present at this important meeting through its CEO, Javier Climent, who gave an interesting presentation during the first day focused on adapting to climate change through the modeling of spills, reliefs and floods.

With the young talent of the water sector as a backdrop, Facsa has contributed its point of view in two of the organized round tables: “Preparing the professionals of tomorrow”, with Víctor de la Torre, a student of the intermediate degree that we teach at the Facsa Training School, and 'Challenging the future', with Rubén García.

These conferences, promoted by the cross-cutting R&D&I group of AEAS, have achieved their objective of exploring how the most innovative water cycle organizations are facing environmental challenges, thus serving as a reference and inspiration to the entire sector.