WELCOME TO THE BRITER-WATER PROJECT WEBSITE

The BRITER-WATER project has brought together key industrial partners to advance the market replication of a novel bamboo remediation system to treat food industry effluent to enable extensive re-use.

The process relies on phytroremdiation which involves the treatment of contaminants by using the growing plants in effluent streams thereby converting effluent into biomass that can be harvested for sale. This is based on the remarkable ability of plants to concentrate elements and compounds from their environment and then to metabolize the various molecules from the effluent to achieve their growth.

The process in its entirety is based on Bambou-Assainissement ®, which is a patent protected advanced technique developed by Phytorem S.A. in France, uses bamboo with optimised biofilms to remediate waste waters at low cost to create scenic landscapes and to produce bamboo culms (shoots) that can be commercially harvested. Through the deployment of a rhizome (root) barrier growth is contained. The system can be readily automated, allowing controlled dispersal of the effluent feed streams to maximize both remediation and bamboo growth

The BRITER-WATER consortium aims to apply proven technology to an industrial scale process at Delifruits, St Donat de L’Herbasse, France as part of a major initiative to improve environmental standards on the site. The effluent produced from the fruit juice manufacture will provide an excellent opportunity for the BRITER-WATER project to replicate the technology.

The BRITER-WATER project is co-financed as part of the European Commissions, ECO-INNOVATION scheme which forms part of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (2007-2013).