Environmental Technologies

We put our knowledge to work by developing technologies that enable the sustainable management of environmental resources and by establishing pollution prevention, control and remediation tools in order to preserve human health and ecosystems with the additional aim of promoting innovation, improving the competitiveness of companies and helping with institutional decision-making.

In the water-related field, we undertake wastewater treatability and supply studies in order to identify the optimal purification processes to ensure an appropriate quality for its intended use or in line with current legally established discharge quality requirements. Likewise, we develop advanced biological and physical-chemical treatment systems for water reuse technologies and undertake assessments of natural attenuation in polluted groundwaters in order to make management proposals on the basis of the results obtained.

Membrane-based separation technologies are currently used in a number of key areas in the field of water treatment. At GAIKER-IK4 we undertake membrane characterisation testing and go on to develop their application as separation technologies in the industrial field and for water treatment. We also study the viability of their use and the optimisation of their performance (design, operation, fouling and cleaning). Likewise, we apply advanced treatment methods such as advanced oxidation,MBR, SBR, electrocoagulation, …

We also develop soil and sediment technologies. Our offer is based along three lines: physical-chemical characterisation of contaminated soils and sediments, treatability studies for contaminated soils and sediments and biological and physical-chemical treatment systems.

We have wide-ranging experience in studying the viability and optimal process parameters for composting-based organic waste treatment processes as well as possible applications for the end product.

The centre's experience in this field includes the following aspects:

• Assessment of the industrial water cycle (supply, process, discharge)
  • Sampling and analysis
  • Water conditioning/treatment
  • Minimisation plans
  • Reuse of waters
• Biological treatment of wastewater
  • Aerobic processes
  • Anaerobic processes
  • Nutrient removal
  • Additivation of process waters (biocides)
• Physical-chemical water treatment
  • Conventional separation/destruction systems (coagulation/flocculation, flotation, adsorption on activated carbon, evaporation, stripping…)
  • Advanced oxidation processes (UV/ozone)
  • Membrane technologies
• Hybrid treatments: membrane bioreactors (MBRs)
• Rehabilitation of surface and/or groundwaters
  • Sampling and analysis
  • Purification/disinfection technologies
  • Tertiary treatments (reuse)
  • Soft technologies: natural attenuation (water-soil)
• Soil and sediment characterisation
• Soil/sediment treatment technologies
  • Biological Treatments
    • Composting-based bioremediation
    • Biostimulation
    • Bioaugmentation
    • Landfarming
    • Solid-phase treatment
  • Physical-chemical treatment
    • Solvent extraction
    • Contention systems
    • Inertisation/solidification
    • Classification and washing
• ISO/OECD compliant toxicity assays
• Molecular biology-based microbial population studies
• Compost quality assessment
• Valorisation of agrifood industry waste