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Treating wastewater for reuse in agriculture or industry is not easy. In this domain, meny questions arise : are current wastewater treatment systems capable of delivering - at acceptable cost - water that can be used for irrigation under sanitary and environmental constraints? Research conducted at the LBE in this field aims at evaluating the treatment and irrigation systems, in particular with regard to the sanitary quality of the treated wastewater. More specifically, our work focuses on the characterization of these waters and the monitoring of their quality from their treatment to the crops in terms of pathogens, organic micropollutants and antimicrobial resistance. In addition, we evaluate - using tools from modeling and automatic control theory - scenarios in which processing systems would be controlled in a degraded way. In other words, the potential gains from preserving some nutrients in the treated water, positive for crops, would be evaluated in relation to the very costly approach in which all pollutants would be removed.

To carry out this research, the LBE pilots or is a partner of several national and international research networks:

• the INRAE REUSE network (https://www6.inrae.fr/reuse)
• the consortium SICMED (www.sicmed.net)
• the TREASURE network (www6.inrae.fr/treasure)
• the GIS « Médicaments dans l’environment »
• the IM2E (www.im2e.org)

The LBE is also involved in several prospective projects, including the IRRIALT'EAU project (for observatory purposes) and the Murviel-les-Montpellier irrigation platform.

Contact

Jérôme Harmand