AquaPriori web application predicts effect of treatment processes

On 3 November KWR held a workshop in the research institute’s laboratory to demonstrate the operation of the AquaPriori web application. More than thirty participants attended, representing all of the Dutch drinking-water utilities and laboratories, as well as the Flemish De Watergroep. During the workshop Joost de Munk (Waternet) and Irene Caltran (Oasen) demonstrated some of the web application’s capabilities. They presented a case with activated carbon filtration and reverse osmosis: the treatment processes contained in the current version of the tool. The tool enables the prediction of the treatment effect of these technologies for more than 100,000 substances which are stored in the connected database. In addition, KWR researchers Martin Korevaar and Dirk Vries presented the ‘motor’ behind this application, which is made up of the substance data in combination with process models.

Also nanofiltration, ozonisation

The speakers during the demonstration workshop outlined a future perspective for the application. Thus, starting in 2022, AquaPriori will also include the following treatment processes: nanofiltration, ozonisation, advanced oxidisation and removal/degradation in the soil. In the longer term, the objective is to incorporate the effects of wastewater treatment into the application, and AquaPriori should also be deployable as a support tool for (policy) measures. Moreover, users should also be able to use the application to keep a finger on the pulse at treatment intake points; in this case the tool would be connected to groundwater and emission models.

Licence

Drinking-water utilities and laboratories that wish to use AquaPriori in the future will request a licence to do so. This licence gives them access to the most recent version of the application as well as support in its use. Licence holders will also have a user group where they can exchange their experiences. In this manner, a shared experience base will be built allowing for maximum possible effectiveness in the tool’s further development and application.

Pertinent for drinking water utilities

The interested parties at the demonstration workshop shared the conclusion that AquaPriori is a pertinent application for drinking water utilities at home and abroad. The expectation was expressed that the tool’s extension and development will be continued into the future.