Turf system reuses water for drinking, irrigation

Published On: January 1, 2012

The Open Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (OICAM) in Nijverdal, The Netherlands, opened its doors in early July to promote the sharing of knowledge, research and development of advanced materials. OICAM’s first demonstration project, GreenSource, combines synthetic turf and water filtration technologies to allow sports facilities to treat and re-use water for turf maintenance, landscaping or drinking water. OICAM, formed by a coalition of advanced-material industries and academic institutions as an incubator for innovative ideas, has stimulated five concrete projects, including GreenSource, that should be completed within a few years.

TenCate, Almelo, The Netherlands, a leader in geotextile technology, worked with Pentair X-Flow, Enschede, The Netherlands (a water filtration company), to develop a water-saving solution for sports venues. GreenSource involves collecting water that falls on synthetic turf and treating it to drinking-water quality for re-use as irrigation or a potable water supply. In areas where water shortages prevail or only polluted water is available, the GreenSource technology would have multiple roles to play.