Background Innovative technologies that facilitate better reuse of wastewater can help to reduce consumption pressures on potable water supplies. Such technologies complement the aims of Europe’s Environmental Technologies Action Plan and can have significant positive environmental impacts when applied in ‘wet industries’ like the textile sector (which commonly use as much as half a cubic meter of water for every kilogramme of finished textile products). Much of Europe’s textile sector is based in southern countries that continue to experience more frequent and severe periods of drought. Identifying effective solutions to water conservation challenges is therefore an increasingly important socio-economic priority here. Objectives The PURIFAST project aimed to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of an advanced wastewater treatment system based on Ultra Filtration (UF) and an innovative Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP). This would reduce the toxicity of purified effluents compared with other AOP technologies and enable the reuse of the water in the textile production processes, with a consequent reduction in freshwater consumption. In order to help confirm parameters for enlarging and optimising the UF processes, sonochemical treatments were to be tested on different types of textile wastewater. A pre-industrial-scale prototype of an advanced purification system was used in the tests. This included an innovative control system based on neural nets, which compared two different technologies (Inge’s membrane technology and Polymem’s hollow-fibre membrane technology). Outcomes were anticipated not only to help improve the environmental credentials of Europe’s textile sector but also offer transferability to leather and pulp sectors as well. Results The PURIFAST project’s novel combination of UF membrane and AOP was validated as an advanced purification technology. It was shown to be an efficient, reliable and cost-effective treatment system for textile and mixed effluents. Pollution loads from surfactant, suspended solids, dyestuffs and aromatic compounds were all significantly reduced and degraded by the combination of physical separation (performed by the UF systems) and oxidation (performed by the Ultrasonic AOP). Results from tests on textile wastewater revealed that the removal of colour can be more than 90%; COD abatement is around 80%; and Total Suspended Solid (TSS) reduction is about 80% at pre-industrial scale. For the centralised treatment plant, processing mixed water, the reduction of pollutants after the PURIFAST treatment averages 65% in terms of colour and 90% in terms of turbidity. TSS is reduced by 35% on average for COD. As much as 60% of textile effluent was proven to be reusable (and possess a low toxicity) following the PURIFAST process. This is estimated to convert to cost savings of up to 45% from water supply and discharge charges. The final assessment of the environmental impacts and benefits, together with a cost-benefit analysis, was performed by applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the Life Cycling Cost (LCC) approach. An economic assessment of the operating costs was also conducted which showed that applying a combination of UF with Ozonation provides positive outcomes, since better quality treated effluent can be achieved and wastewater treatment cost can be reduced by 30%. The LCA carried out at the industrial WWTP showed that the Pruifast project approach can reduce the overall environmental impact of the water treatment. In particular, the new technology reduces the use of fossil fuels (less energy needed than in the conventional approach), the overall carbon footprint and the acidification. The LCA carried out at a textile dye house showed that the project approach does not reduce the overall environmental impact of the water treatment, in terms of fossil fuels and carbon footprint. This is due to the use of additional power needed to carry out a tertiary treatment which is not done in current conditions (water cannot be reused in-situ but has to be sent to a municipal WWTP). Nevertheless, the Purifast tertiary treatment does significantly reduce human toxicity risks, as well as problems related to ionising radiation, freshwater eutrophication and different ecotoxicity categories. Remarkable benefits are moreover recorded as for the primary water consumption thanks to water reuse. Studies carried out during the project confirmed the technology’s transferability throughout Europe and thus the LIFE project offers opportunities to help EU textile industries to meet legislative targets for reducing water consumption by 35% via water reuse. Project results also make positive contributions to other important EU environmental targets such as prevention or reduction of industrial emissions into the environment as per the IPPC Directive 96/61/EC. Benefits in terms of employment are also expected in the textile sector. Cost effective purification of effluents and reuse of treated wastewater can help to enhance the competitiveness of European textile industries, by reducing compliance costs associated with environmental legislation. In a wide perspective, this can help EU textile industries to face competition from low-wage cost countries, and therefore to maintain their activity and their current employment level. Diffusion of the project’s proposed treatment system among textile industries and other textile industrial areas could also promote further research and demonstration studies on the reuse of other industrial effluents, e.g. tannery, paper and pulp effluents. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).