Sorigué has launched the Electrowetland project, which develops a new hybrid technology based on the improvement of lagooning or wetland technology, used in the treatment of urban wastewater. The objective of the research is to improve the performance of wetland systems, without increasing construction or operating costs, thereby generating a competitive advantage for the company in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) market.

This project is co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund within the framework of the ERDF Operational Programme of Catalonia 2014–2020. The research aims to refine wetland systems through the incorporation of bioelectrochemical systems, in order to improve efficiency in the processes of removing organic matter, while also seeking to recover electrical energy so that it can be reused in the monitoring of the entire process.

Sorigué, through its water cycle business line, specialises in the construction and operation of treatment plants. It currently operates 20 WWTPs that use wetland technology for wastewater treatment.

Among the objectives of the research are to improve efficiency in the removal of organic matter, including solids and nutrients; reduce hydraulic retention time to achieve optimal treatment; recover energy during the organic matter removal process; determine the potential to power the sensors of the wetland system itself with the recovered energy; and reduce problems associated with clogging of the filtering bed in wetland technology, with the consequent reduction in operating costs.

The project, carried out in collaboration with the technology centre Leitat, will enable the creation of a new proprietary Sorigué technology, which will mark a paradigm shift in soft wastewater treatment systems for small and medium-sized WWTPs.