Dr. Gabriel Pérez Luque, Prof. Rita Puig Vidal, and Dr. Esther Bartoli Soler organized a trip to the Aqualia Wastewater treatment plant in Lleida – Spain, for students from various Lebanese institutions. Marleine Boutros and Georgio Farah, Ph.D. candidates from the University of Balamand (UOB), Sally Ammoury from the Lebanese University (LU), Lynn Rhayem and Cheryl Salameh from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), and Claudia Marcela Garcia, the Ph.D. candidate from University of Lleida (UdL). The relevance of this field visit is that it endorses the modeling and research studies of the students.
Professors from UdL and the Aqualia plant manager, Jordi PALATSI, explored possibilities for future collaborations within the scope of the SWaTH project and beyond. The visit started with a technical presentation about the different stages of their sustainable wastewater treatment process. It was followed by the recently implemented, ongoing, and future projects to make the plant more environmentally friendly to achieve the zero waste approach and fit within the circular economy systems.
This visit was very fruitful as the students are working on the simulation, design, and LCA studies related to sustainable wastewater treatment plants. The Ph.D. candidates' are also performing the life cycle assessment (LCA) modeling of hospital wastewater treatment and reusing recycled grey wastewater in green roofs.
