# Effluents reuse in the food industry: from the development of methodologies and tools to the multiobjective optimization of the reverse osmosis process

Claire Fargues, Hedi Romdhana, Wafa Guiga, Violaine Athès, Luidgi Residant, Nadine Leconte, Geneviève Gésan-Guiziou

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## To cite this version:

Claire Fargues, Hedi Romdhana, Wafa Guiga, Violaine Athès, Luidgi Residant, et al.. Effluents reuse in the food industry: from the development of methodologies and tools to the multiobjective optimization of the reverse osmosis process. Third International Symposium on Nanomaterials and Membrane Science for Water, Energy and Environment, Dec 2025, Mohammedia, Morocco. hal-05510087

HAL Id: hal-05510087

https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05510087v1

Submitted on 13 Feb 2026

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# Effluents reuse in the food industry: from the development of methodologies and tools to the multi-objective optimization of the reverse osmosis process

Fargues C.*,<sup>a</sup>, Romdhana H.<sup>a</sup>, Guiga W.<sup>a,b</sup>, Athes V.<sup>a</sup>, Résidant L.<sup>a</sup>, Leconte N.<sup>c</sup> and Gesan-Guiziou G.<sup>c</sup>

*Corresponding Author E-mail: claire.fargues@agroparistech.fr

**Abstract:**

In the context of increasing pressure on water resources and recurrent shortages during droughts, the French Government has recently relaxed regulations on water reuse in the agri-food industry. Instead of drinking water, the use of treated or untreated industrial wastewater is now authorized for direct or indirect contact with food insofar as health risks remain under control. Anticipating this regulatory change, the French ANR project MINIMEAU (ANR-17-CE10-0015, https://minimeau.fr), conducted in partnership between academics and technical institutes, has enabled the development of a methodology and of several tools to assist the manufacturer in considering the transformation of the factory's water network, including these reuses. Two food sectors were more especially studied: dairy and vegetable canning. Given economic and environmental costs of membrane treatment solutions, this work was followed by an INRAE Carnot-Qualiment project (DIMEMPRO, 2022-2025) which aimed to develop a multi-objective optimization tool to design and size the multi-stage reverse osmosis (RO) process. It is based on feed (wastewater) and product (treated water, i.e. RO permeate) specifications while minimizing its energy consumption and membrane surface. The tools developed during both projects include:

- A water Pinch software (WaterOptim) [1]: to estimate the site's potential water savings, by mapping water flows. Together with the expertise of the manager, it helps to choose the best wastewater streams to reuse.

- A guide and review about water treatment [2]: to select the appropriate treatment to be implemented for removing target pollutants and achieve the desired water quality for the intended reuse.

- A membrane process simulator (“spiral_membrane” software (Python)): to estimate the water quality that can be obtained through a multi-stage reverse osmosis process, based on a Solution-Diffusion model including concentration polarization at the retentate side [3]. Fouling and osmotic pressure increase due to volume reduction ratio increase during the process were also considered.

Optimization of the multi-stage system design was made by simulating the transfer of water and pollutants in each spiral-wound membrane module, together with the generation of modules' arrangements in series and parallel in a tapered cascade of pressure vessels using NSGA-II method. Preliminary design scenarios had to respect several constraints including hydrodynamic limitations, stages' number between 1 and 3, and an initial pressure in the vessel between 2 and 12 bar. The objectives were a water recovery above 50%, a COD content in the permeate below 500 mg/L and a minimal cost. The solutions are illustrated by a Pareto diagram which allows the best scenario to be chosen for achieving the priority objective. Further research will focus on assessing health risks (microbiological and chemical) associated with the intended reuse through the development of a modified water Pinch software.

**Keywords:** Industrial effluents; water reuse; reverse osmosis; optimization

**References:**

[1] K. Nemati, H. Romdhana and M.L. Lameloise, Cleaner Engineering and Technology, 4, 1002602021 (2021).

[2] C. Garnier, W. Guiga, M.-L. Lameloise, C. Fargues, Journal of Food Engineering, 344, 111397 (2023).

[3] C. Garnier, W. Guiga, M.-L. Lameloise, L. Degrand, C. Fargues, Journal of Food Engineering, 317, 110863 (2022).

<footnote><sup>a</sup> Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120, Palaiseau, France</footnote>

<footnote><sup>b</sup> Le Cnam, UMR SayFood, Paris, 75003, France</footnote>

<footnote><sup>c</sup> UMR STLO, INRAE - Institut Agro, France</footnote>