Wastewater is continuously growing in volume due to the increase in domestic and industrial water consumption. The high cost of water transportation, as well as new environmental issues, make the topic of water reuse and wastewater recycling increasingly important.
Reusing wastewater: a vital issue
Wastewater is, paradoxically, the only water resource that can be relied on continuously. Domestic populations, as well as industrial transformation processes, consume large amounts of water resources on a daily basis and produce large quantities of wastewater.
This wastewater is polluted by organic compounds, bacteria and other harmful elements, and yet it now constitutes a fully recoverable resource thanks to the progress of recycling techniques. Veolia Water Technologies has developed a wide range of innovative solutions to improve the environmental impact of water consumption.
Reusing water is also, and above all, now an important issue for all sectors and all regions wanting to optimise their consumption and their costs.
Reusing water offers significant advantages in terms of how much water is drawn from the natural environment, and in terms of conventional water supply costs.
Reuse is therefore a proven weapon for combating water shortage. It provides a constant and reliable water source at the places where such sources are necessary, and makes it possible to prioritise allocating freshwater resources to meeting drinking water needs.
Wastewater treatment plants located in coastal areas
Reusing wastewater treated by such facilities should be especially encouraged. Discharging wastewater into the marine environment, in which salt concentration is very high, would make it permanently unusable for any subsequent use requiring freshwater.
Applications for reusing water
The regulations concerning reusing water are strict and vary from one country to another. The applications may include:
- Cooling of facilities;
- Water for boilers;
- Water for industrial processing;
- Agricultural irrigation;
- Watering of green spaces and golf courses;
- Storing and reusing groundwater, and salt intrusion barriers in coastal municipalities; and
- Public fountains and street cleaning.
Achieving reuse of water
There is no one specific technology for enabling water to be reused: water reuse generally takes place by combining several processes or technologies depending on the cases, such as biological or physicochemical treatment, clarification, gravity and/or membrane filtration, evaporation, and disinfection.
Based on its full portfolio of standard processes, technologies, and facilities, Veolia Water Technologies builds water reuse lines that are tailored to meet the objectives of each customer and to comply with the application regulations.
Technologies
MBR, MBBR, Actiflo Turbo, Actiflo Softening, Opascep, Hydrotech, Filtraflo, Sirion, OPUS, Hydrex, M5 Berkefeld, Ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, Evaled, ….
Veolia Water Technologies' "Aquavista" range of services can be proposed to operators for optimising the operating conditions of the treatment channels put in place.
References
Automobile:
- General Motors Cactus Plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico; and
- Renault Plant in Tangier, Morocco.
Chemicals:
- Tianjin Soda, China; and
- LG/Lotte Petrochemicals, Daesan, Korea.
Food Production:
- Cooperl, Lamballe, France; and
- Nestlé, Mexico.
Pharmaceutical Production:
- Zimmer Orthopaedics Manufacturing, Ireland; and
- Pfizer, Shanbally, Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork.
Mining:
- CONSOL Energy Inc., pit water treatment facility, Mannington, West Virginia;
- Ambatovy Mine, Madagascar; and
- Fosterville gold mine in Victoria, Australia.
Energy:
- Macquarie Generation, water treatment plants of Bayswater, New South Wales, Australia; and
- APS (Arizona Public Service) Redhawk Power Station, Arlington, Arizona, United States.
Pulp and Paper industry:
- Smurfit-Stone Container, Corporation, Hopewell, United States.
Oil and Gas:
- SHELL Qatar, Pearl GTL complex, Qatar.
Reusing Municipal Wastewater after Treatment:
- Durban: reusing municipal wastewater for supplying process water and cooling water for the SAPREF Refinery (Oil & Gas) and for the papermaker Mondi, South Africa;
- Windhoek: Partial reuse of wastewater, after treatment, for the drinking water supply;
- Copenhagen;
- Microelectronics Industrial Area, Kranji, Singapore; and
- Disneyland Paris.