Mediterranean-African countries (MACs) face a major water crisis. The annual renewable water resources are close to the 500 m /capita threshold of absolute water scarcity, and water withdrawals exceed total renewable water resources by 30%. Such a low water availability curbs economic development in agriculture, which accounts for 86% of freshwater consumption. The analysis of the current situation of wastewater treatment, irrigation, and water management in MACs and of the research projects targeted to these countries indicates the need for 1) an enhanced capacity to analyze water stress, 2) the development of water management strategies capable of including wastewater reuse, and 3) development of locally adapted water treatment and irrigation technologies. This analysis shaped the MADFORWATER project (www.madforwater.eu), whose goal is to develop a set of integrated technological and management solutions to enhance wastewater treatment, wastewater reuse for irrigation, and water efficiency in agriculture in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. MADFORWATER develops and adapts technologies for the production of irrigation-quality water from drainage canals and municipal, agro-industrial, and industrial wastewaters and technologies for water efficiency and reuse in agriculture, initially validated at laboratory scale, to 3 hydrological basins in the selected MACs. Selected technologies will be further adapted and validated in 4 demonstration plants of integrated wastewater treatment and reuse. Integrated strategies for wastewater treatment and reuse targeted to the selected basins are developed, and guidelines for the development of integrated water management strategies in other basins of the 3 target MACs will be produced. The social and technical suitability of the developed technologies and nontechnological tools in relation to the local context is evaluated with the participation of MAC stakeholders and partners. Guidelines on economic instruments and policies for the effective implementation of the proposed water management solutions in the target MACs will be developed. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:447-462. © 2018 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

BACKGROUND Olive mill wastewaters (OMWs) represent a major environmental concern due to their high organic load and phytotoxic activity. The selective recovery of phenolic compounds (PCs) from OMW is promising, thanks to the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of PCs. The goal of this work was to perform a life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost–benefit analysis (CBA) of a full‐scale process of PC adsorption/desorption on resin Amberlite XAD16N. The industrial process was designed on the basis of laboratory tests aimed at performing a preliminary process optimization. RESULTS Adsorption tests were conducted at different velocities in a 1.8‐m column packed with XAD16N. The optimal superficial velocity and retention time (2.78 m h–1 and 0.56 h) allowed the attainment of satisfactory performances in terms of resin operating capacity (0.46), PC adsorption yield (0.92), PC mass fraction in the sorbed product (0.50 gPC/gVS) and specific antioxidant activity (3–6 gascorbic acid/gPC). Six consecutive adsorption/desorption cycles, operated with the same resin load, resulted in stable process performances. The LCA indicated that the environmental impact of the process could be decreased markedly through the addition of an anaerobic digestion step for the production of irrigation‐quality water and fertilizers from the dephenolized OMW. The PC market price required for the generation of a positive business case resulted relatively low (€1.7–13.5 kgPC–1). CONCLUSION The results indicate that the proposed PC adsorption/desorption technology, if integrated with an anaerobic digestion step, represents a promising solution for the treatment and valorization of OMW, a major agro‐industrial waste in Mediterranean countries. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

In an era when many water systems worldwide are experiencing water stress regarding water quantity and quality, water reuse has received growing attention as one of the most promising integrated mitigating solutions. Nevertheless, the plethora of technologies and their combinations available, as well as social, economic, and environmental constraints, often make it complex for stakeholders and especially decision makers to elicit relevant information. The scope of the current study is to develop a decision support tool that supports pre-feasibility studies and aims at promoting water reuse and building capacities in the field. The tool developed currently encompasses 37 unit processes combined into 70 benchmark treatment trains. It also contains information on water quality standards and typical wastewater qualities. It estimates the removal performances for 12 parameters and the lifecycle costs including distribution. The tool and all underlying data are open access and under continuous development. The underlying systemic approach of the tool makes it intuitive also for users with limited prior knowledge in the field to identify most adequate solutions based on a multi-criteria assessment. This should help to promote water reuse and spearhead initiates for more detailed feasibility and design commissioning for implementation of water reuse schemes.

The aim of our study is based on the characterization of the effluents treated by the M’zar plant, the monitoring of its purification performance after each treatment stage and the benefits of treated wastewater reuse in Souss-Massa region. Physico-chemical and bacteriological analyses were performed monthly from May 2019 to September 2020 on four types of water: Raw Water (RW), Settled Water (SW), Filtered Water (FW) and Purified Water treated by ultraviolet radiation (PWUV). After treatment, the pH values were close to neutrality and the concentrations of COD, BOD5, SM and bacteriological parameters were below the limits recommended by Moroccan standards, with a satisfactory abatement rate (between 97.5% and 100%), with the exception of electrical conductivity, which recorded very high values (3.7 dS/cm in PWUV) due to the salt discharged by the fish industries. In fact, the treated wastewater is rich in nitrates (289.24 mg/L in PWUV) and their reuse in agriculture can therefore contribute to making significant savings in terms of fertilization (2.08 t/day of nitrogen with a daily flow of 30,000 m3/day). Furthermore, a daily quantity of 2 to 5 tons of sludge is discharged, containing 40% to 60% of dry volatile matter, which results in the biogas production of 1275 m3/day/decanter.

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