The NanoMemPro IPPC database focus the operations where membranes are introduced as Best Available Techniques in the industrial areas addressed by the IPPC Directive.
The
Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive was adopted by the
European Council
The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...
on September 24, 1996. It defines the obligations with which highly polluting industrial and agricultural activities must comply.
It establishes a procedure for authorizing these activities: a permit is issued if certain environmental conditions are met.
The IPPC Directive aims to minimise pollution from various sources throughout the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
(it concerns both new and existing installations). To do so, all industrial installations covered by the Annex I of the IPPC Directive (see ) are required to obtain an authorisation (permit) from the authorities in the EU countries before they are allowed to operate. The permits granted must be based on the concept of
Best Available Techniques (or BAT).
Features
The IPPC Directive covers 33 industrial sectors where in almost all of them membrane processes appear as BAT, not only as an end-of-pipe solution for effluent treatment but mainly as a part of the industrial production processes.
Membrane process integration play a crucial role, depending on the industrial sector in which they are integrated, and these roles may be:
* Confinement of pollutants in concentrate streams (that may be further treated by destructive processes),
* Permeate recycle or re-use in the industrial process, thus reducing water input and discharge,
* Water recycling and effluent minimization, tending to zero discharge industrial processes.
The IPPC Database was designed by the NanoMemPro Network of Excellence to focus the operations where membranes are introduced as BAT in the industrial areas addressed by the IPPC Directive documents.
The Database built allows any user to search information upon the following criteria:
* Membrane process (
Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane, semi-permeable membrane to separate water molecules from other substances. RO applies pressure to overcome osmotic pressure that favors even distribu ...
,
Nanofiltration, ''etc''.),
* Industrial sector (
Pulp and Paper,
Textile Industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing.
Industry process
Cotton manufacturing
Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...
, ''etc''.),
* State of Reference document approval (BREF, DRAFT, ''etc''.).
The information states which membrane processes are defined as a BAT in a given industrial sector and what is the application/purpose of that membrane process(es).
When accessing the Database, one can enter a username and password. This password insertion is used only by the database manager. To view and search the information of the database, just press the OK button, ignoring the password insertion procedure.
This IPPC Database is available in the NanoMemPro website.
References
{{reflist
European Union law
Membrane technology
Scientific databases