ACCIONA has the challenge to find new business models from data generated and, if it is able to implement solutions that collect, store, and analyse the relevant information, will grant the business of ACCIONA Agua with a corporate intelligent service and data analysis that is fast, agile, and far more efficient.

 

The water treatment plants have many processes from which vast amounts of data are generated and which have to be tended to in order to not only get results from solutions, but anticipate and prevent possible incidents in the treatment processes.

 

Business model transition in projects to offer services. Content development for ACCIONA’s cloud where the future numerical updates, cognitive intelligence, algorithms and control systems in the cloud.

 

The plants themselves offer a lot of information that grants knowledge of the medium and the processes. Accessing that data volume and be able to analyse it provides new tools and business lines within the data exploitation itself, and opens real possibilities to the improvement and optimization of designs.

Water treatment is essential for survival, and treatment of seawater for domestic use is a solution to cover demand for drinking water.

 

A lack of water affects 40% of the world’s population, and it is estimated that around 65% of the population will suffer the consequences of water shortages by 2030. Bearing in mind the decreasing availability of natural fresh water, desalinating seawater for human consumption is something that can offset the problem.

 

Among the desalination techniques used, the most common is reverse osmosis, used in 60% of plants. This technique eliminates salt from water by using a semi-permeable membrane that allows molecules to pass through it. Seawater contains a high level of microorganisms that adhere to this filter; they find somewhere to shelter and grow, blocking the passage of the water.

 

The appearance of these organisms means that it is necessary to shut down the plant to clean the membranes, whose state is unknown until they are cleaned.

Shutting down a plant to wash the membrane frames is costly and leads to downtime. The biggest disadvantage is not knowing the extent of biofouling, which makes it difficult to predict shutdowns in a desalination plant. This can also lead to penalties on late deliveries by clients.

 

The problem lies in the availability of know-how on the evolution of microorganisms blocking the membranes, in order to optimise their use and cleaning.

We seek start-ups that can adapt their solutions to the detection of microorganism loads in seawater. ACCIONA is interested in a physical sensor that can measure levels directly and functions in a preventive manner, allowing us to know the extent of biofouling with a view to extending the working life of the membranes.

The most usual process to obtain copper from oxide ores and some sulphides is through leaching stacks. In this process, heap leaching stacks (large dumps of already-crushed low-copper-grade materials) are irrigated with water and sulphuric acid to obtain a greater copper concentration in the drainage systems. However, copper concentrations are not homogenous in the heap leaching stacks and, consequently, a balanced irrigation process is not completely efficient. Currently, acid is spread homogeneously in all areas, leaving some over-irrigated and others under-irrigated.

ACCIONA is looking for startups that help us with the optimization of the leaching process. How could the leaching process be digitalized to become more efficient? How could the use of water and acid be optimized, considering the copper concentrations in the heap leaching stacks in real time? How could the copper concentrations in the heap leaching stacks be measured in real time? How could the required water and acid supply be improved?

In reverse osmosis desalination plants, the materials suffer a lot of wear and tear, as they have to withstand pressure of 70 BAR when operating, and because of the elements they come into contact with during the process (sea water, brine and chemical products).

There are lots different components made out of different materials (special steels, plastics and fibres) that could deteriorate and give out, from pressure pipes and seals to flexible connectors, valves, etc.  There might be different kinds of breakages, from cracks to large scale breakages in different parts of the structure, which may on occasion compromise the safety of the people and the structure itself.

At ACCIONA, we’re looking for startups that allow us to improve the safety and efficiency of our desalination plants. How could we monitor the deterioration of the materials that are used for the different components? How can we predict if certain components of the structure will fail? How could we identify the areas where an incident may be about to occur before it actually does? How can we improve people’s safety?