Theme: Energy transition and resource recovery
Results of applied science and innovations will be presented in this session, addressing the theme of energy transition and resource recovery. There will be different forms of interaction with the audience.
Theme: Energy transition and resource recovery
Results of applied science and innovations will be presented in this session, addressing the theme of energy transition and resource recovery. There will be different forms of interaction with the audience.
E108 - Amsterdam RAIContributing to the Blue Responsibility Award in 2014, the Terra Preta project began in 1984 with a 500m2 closed loop sewer-less, rainwater harvesting, passive solar, low carbon house that also had a system of balanced ventilation and heat-recovery. This presentation chronologically follows the developments and experimental models applied and emphasises the health and environmental co-benefits that are derived. A dynamic and first–hand account of an evolving project provides unique insights into validating and stimulating further research and development.
In the recovery process presented here, developed within the Interreg-NEREUS project, the valuable resources within wastewater are first concentrated and then separated and recovered. Technologies included are fine sieves, electrocoagulation, (polymeric) nanofiltration, reverse osmosis and algae culture. First results on the enzymatic hydrolysis of screening material from the fine sieve will be presented, from both laboratory scale batch experiments and a continuous pilot scale reactor. Based on the pilot scale results, a business case has been worked out for enzymatic hydrolysis of screening materials. These hydrolysed screening materials can replace glycerine as a carbon source for denitrification and potentially decrease the carbon footprint of the operation of wastewater treatment plants.
Lifecycle assessment (LCA) is an established methodology to assess the potential environmental impacts of products and processes. We reviewed 46 recent LCA studies (2010-2018) on nutrient recovery from wastewater to synthesise current practices and insights. The scopes, general results, variations, limitations and uncertainty management are discussed. Most studies either compare the environmental impacts of recovery versus non- recovery, or compare the environmental impacts of different recovery alternatives. In general, nutrient recovery can reduce the overall life-cycle environmental footprints of wastewater treatment systems (especially the carbon footprint), despite potential burdens of ecotoxicity and human toxicity.
The focus of water treatment is increasingly shifting to the recovery of raw materials, partially stimulated by the quest for a circular economy. Drinking water companies, Water Authorities and sludge final processors are concerning themselves with the recovery and useful reuse of residuals. Besides water, phosphorus and cellulose there are also opportunities for the recovery of (rare) heavy metals and earth metals, including copper, zinc, cobalt, silver, gold and palladium. Besides the recovery of the metal/metals, the removal of metals improves effluent quality, sludge quality and residual ash, and therefore opens alternative disposal possibilities.
The Wilp Water Refinery® concept is an innovative water reuse and resource recovery plant ready to create high quality water and produce several circular material streams. A highly innovative plant for the separation of sewage water into high quality water and reusable raw materials. This is a paradigm shift in the treatment of wastewater: wastewater is no longer considered as waste, but as a valuable resource/raw material! Dutch regional water authority Vallei & Veluwe has given the green light for a next generation water treatment factory for the town of Wilp in the Netherlands. The key of the project is that mixed or municipal sewage is treated as a resource that contains many valuable materials, such as water, N, P, organics, cellulose and sand.
With the growing demand of N-fertiliser and the excess of nitrogen in waste streams, the local nitrogen cycle has gathered worldwide attention. The physical-chemical process AECO-NAR converts nitrogen in wastewater into N-fertiliser via a shorter route compared to biological processes. As the Dutch project ‘Achterhoek without Artificial Fertiliser’ expands from 15 to 150 farmers, the technology is expected to further support urban farming for municipal application.
De Kruitfabriek (the Gunpowder Factory) is an event location in a former industrial building in Vilvoorde, Belgium, where a research and demonstration project is running for decentral treatment of wastewater and recovery of resources. Wastewater is separated into greywater, urine and blackwater. The greywater is treated by a constructed wetland and nanofiltration to produce reusable water. The urine is treated by a struvite precipitation reactor to recover phosphorus and nitrogen as fertiliser. Unique aspects of this project are that the recovered resources are applied and reused locally, to support a short-loop circular economy. Results will be presented in this case study.
In this session we cover the entire value chain from aerobic granular sludge to high-value material. The production of composite material from Kaumera® and retrieved cellulose is an excellent example of development of a complete value-chain with water authorities, universities and SME’s. Kaumera is currently being valorised in production of high-performance composites, together with recovered cellulose fibres. This is achieved by a consortium of AMS Institute, TU Delft, Waternet, ChainCraft, and NPSP in the “WASCOM” project.