A mobile pilot wastewater treatment plant has started operating at the site of the Ljubljana Central Wastewater Treatment Plant in Zalog. The Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia (IzVRS) will use it for research and for the preparation of expert groundwork as part of the public service it performs for the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning (MOP). These activities are linked to the implementation of the recast Directive (EU) 2024/3019 concerning urban wastewater treatment, which introduces new requirements in the field of wastewater treatment and the protection of the aquatic environment.
The installation and operation of the pilot plant are carried out in cooperation with VO-KA Snaga Ljubljana, which enabled its placement at the Ljubljana Central Wastewater Treatment Plant. This cooperation represents an important contribution to the development and verification of advanced urban wastewater treatment solutions under real operating conditions.
The pilot plant is designed as a mobile, highly automated unit and currently includes:
- ultrafiltration (UF) for the removal of suspended solids,
- reverse osmosis (RO) for the removal of dissolved substances and micropollutants.
As part of the research, IzVRS will assess the efficiency of individual technologies in removing micropollutants from urban wastewater and optimise their operation. In addition to the technological modules currently installed, other advanced treatment technologies will gradually be tested on the pilot plant, providing comparable data on their efficiency and applicability under Slovenian conditions.
The mobile pilot treatment plant represents an important step in the preparation of expert groundwork for implementing the recast European legislation and in the development of effective solutions for removing micropollutants, reducing pressures on the aquatic environment and achieving a long-term improvement in water quality.
