Background The implementation of the Water Framework Directive raises a number of shared technical challenges for Member States, which need to be addressed to help meet the Directive’s objective of achieving good ecological status for every water body in Europe. Water is polluted by a myriad of chemicals from the daily activities of industries, agriculture and households. Many of these chemicals are not traditionally considered as pollutants, but are being discovered in water sometimes at higher levels than expected. These chemicals, whose effects on the environment and human health are unknown, are often without regulatory status. They are generally referred to as emerging pollutants (EPs), and are of particular risk due to their permanent discharge. Although EPs are suspected of causing adverse effects in humans and wildlife (e.g. endocrine disruption), only 45 of them are regulated under Directive 2013/39/EC. At present, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are not designed to treat EPS and so they are not removed or altered before reaching aquatic habitats – where they can potentially affect wildlife or be introduced into food chains with associated health effects. Objectives The LIFE EMPORE project will demonstrate an innovative, cost-efficient and highly replicable technology for the removal of EPs from urban wastewater. The pilot plant will be integrated into the WWTP of Benidorm (Spain). The prototype, which is mobile, will have a treatment capacity of up to 5 m3/h. It will consist of four principal processing units: filtration/adsorption by columns, filtration by membrane technology, Electrochemical Advanced Oxidation Processes (EAOPs) and Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs). The specific objectives of the project are to: Demonstrate that the selected combination of four technologies is able to reduce the concentration of the following priority EPs regulated in Directive 2013/39/EC: chlorpyrifos, trifluralin, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and 4-tert-octylphenol; Demonstrate that the combined technology is able to reduce the levels of diclofenac, 17-alfa-estradiol and 17-beta-estradiol, carbamazepine, 2-(p-isobutylphenyl) propionic acid, fluoxetine, estrone and chloramphenicol, to 99% of their original concentrations; Characterise EPs and their yearly variability in the WWTP of Benidorm; Analyse the feasibility of the technologies for removing these EPs from wastewater; Assess the initial and final environmental situation in accordance with different organoleptic, physical and chemical parameters; Assess the socio-economic impact of the implementation of the demonstration plant for EP removal for the local economy and also for other European regions with similar pollution problems; Disseminate between stakeholders the benefits of using EMPORE technologies for the reduction of Emerging Pollutants presence in European WWTPs; and Transfer the project results to other identified Europe places with a similar situation regarding Emerging Pollutants. Expected results: The LIFE EMPORE project will enable the achievement of these specific results relating to final concentrations of the following emerging pollutants in treated wastewater: Chlorpyrifos-ethyl between 0.0-0.00069 μg/l; Trifluralin between 0.0005-0.0006 μg/l; 4-tert-Octylphenol between 0.0-0.005 μg/l; DEHP between 0.09-0.26 μg/l; 17-alfa-estradiol between 0.00045-0.006 μg/l; 17-beta-estradiol between 0.205-2.4 μg/l; Chloramphenicol between 0.08-0.12 μg/l; Carbamazepine between 0.011-0.017 μg/l; 2-(p-isobutylphenyl) propionic acid between 0.245-0.36 μg/l; Fluoxetine Estrone between 0.000029 μg/l-0,00015 μg/l; Diclofenac between 0.05-0.08μg/l; Reductions in the concentrations of chlorpyrifos, trifluralin and DEHP below the threshold established in Directive 2013/39/EC; Greater than 95% reduction in the concentrations of diclofenac, 17-alfa-estradiol and 17-beta-estradiol (EPs in the watch list of Article 8b of Directive 2013/39/EC); Greater than 95% reduction in the concentrations of carbamazepine, 2-(p-isobutylphenyl) propionic acid (Ibuprofen), fluoxetine (e.g. Prozac), estrone and chloramphenicol (emerging pharmaceutical pollutants); and A feasibility report on the project’s combination of technologies for EP removal.In order to transfer the demonstrated solution more widely across Europe it will provide an assessment of the legal framework for the transferability and replicability. The project is also expected to facilitate market uptake of technologies that can be replicated in other places and countries and thus help stimulate other companies at the forefront of environmental technology.