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Status of Decentralized

Wastewater Treatment in Europe:

Need, Drivers, Trends and Technologies

Prof. C. VisvanathanEnvironmental Engineering and Management Program

Asian Institute of TechnologyThailand

email: visu@ait.ac.th Web: http://www.faculty.ait.ac.th/visu/

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Outline Need

Conventional Sanitation System

Europe Largest WWTP in Paris

World Population Distribution

Asia Vs Europe

Urban Growth Pattern

Drivers

Sustainable Sanitation System

First Generation Decentralized WWTP

Status of MBR in Europe

Drivers and Trends in Europe

Case study MBR at the Sant’ Erasmo Island

Advance Remote Control System at Venice

High-tech Vs Low-tech

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Need

No wastewater treatment in,

Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal Mehedinti in Romania

Europe: 540 Major Cities

Only 79 cities have advanced tertiary sewage treatment

223 have secondary treatment

168 cities have no or an unknown form of treatment of their wastewater

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Wastewater and Wastewater

Treatment

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Wastewater Treatment by World

Regions

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Status of WWTP in Europe

Wastewater treatment in all parts of Europe has improved during the last 15-20

years.

The percentage of the population connected to wastewater treatment in the

Southern, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe has increased over the last ten

years.

Latest values of population connected to wastewater treatment in the Eastern and

South-Eastern Europe are still relatively low compared to Central and Northern

Europe.

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Water supply and sanitation in the

European Union The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) of 21 May 1991

concerning discharges of municipal and some industrial waste waters;

The Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) of 3 November 1998 concerning

potable water quality;

The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) of 23 October 2000

concerning water resources management.

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EU Directive on Wastewater

Treatment

The Urban Waste Water Treatment (UWWT) Directive is one of the major water policy tools in

Europe, was adopted on 21 May 1991.

Directive requires:

The Collection and treatment of waste water in all agglomeration of >2000 population

equivalents (p.e.)

Secondary Treatment of all discharges from agglomerations of > 2000 p.e., and more

advanced treatment for agglomerations >10 000 P.e. in designated sensitive areas and their

catchments;

A requirement for pre-authorisation of all discharges of urban wastewater, of discharges from

the food-processing industry and of industrial discharges into urban wastewater collection

systems;

Monitoring of the performance of treatment plants and receiving waters; and

Controls of sewage sludge disposal and re-use, and treated waste water re-use whenever it is

appropriate.

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Urban Waste Water Treatment (UWWT) Directive

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Compliance Time Table Timetable for the compliance with the UWWT Directive varies for EU15 and for new EU

Member States (EU12).

For Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,

Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and UK the latest date to fully comply

with the Directive was 31/12/2005.

For the new Member States in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Mediterranean,

staged transitional periods have been set within the Accession Treaties; In principle these

transitional periods do not exceed the year 2015;

Only in Romania, smaller agglomerations (with less than 10,000 p.e.) have to comply with

the Directive by the end of 2018.

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Compliance of the UWWT Directive

1. Collecting System

Most of the EU Member States

collect their waste waters at very

high levels with an average rate of

compliance equal to 94% (up from

92%).

Some 15 Member States even

reach compliance of 100%.

However, five Member States still

had compliance rates below 30%

in 2009/2010 (BG, CY, EE, LV,

SI).

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2. Collecting System

• Most of the EU Member States collect their waste waters at very high levels with an average rate of compliance equal to 94% (up from 92%).

• Some 15 Member States even reach compliance of 100%.

• However, five Member States still had compliance rates below 30% in 2009/2010 (BG, CY,EE, LV, SI).

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Compliance of the UWWT Directive

3. Secondary Treatment

In 2009/2010, a total of 82% of the waste waters in the EU received secondary treatment

Four Member States reached 100% compliance and another six Member States had levels of compliance of 97% and higher.

However, the compliance rates in EU-12 Member States are only 39% of their waste waters receiving appropriate secondary treatment.

Only CZ, HU, LT and SK achieved compliance results between 80-100%. 12

4. Tertiary Treatment

• There was an overall compliance rate of 77%.

• Four countries reached 100% compliance.

• However in the EU-12 Member States, only 14% of waste waters are treated appropriately.

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Conventional Sanitation System

Nitrogen(High energy Demand)

Potassium

Fertilizer Factory

Food

Waste water

Sewerage treatment plant

Sewage Sludge

LandfillIncineration

Fossil Phosphorus

High water demand

Treated water

Agriculture Farm

Accumulation of Phosphorus and nitrogen in surface & groundwater

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Europe Largest WWTP in Paris

Seine Aval treats the wastewater generated by over 75% of the population in the Paris

By 2015 aim to achieve full nitrification and denitrification of effluent in Greater Paris area

Treatment capacity is 2.1 million m3/d

Long distance view of new facility with existing primary treatment works on the left

Grass roof above new sludge treatment works at Seine Aval wastewater treatment plant

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Advantages

Easy for management in terms of effluent quality and operation

Successfully applied in high density population areas

Thus,

Centralized Treatment System

1970 – 1980 Urban WWTP has Suspended Solids (SS) and Organic Removal as a primary objective

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High cost in term of maintenance and operation

High cost of investment

Large area requirement

Centralized WWTP is only a part of the solution, and certainly not a sustainable solution…

Disadvantages

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Population Density Map of Asia

Asia Vs Europe Population Distribution

Population is concentrated on cities

Cities are outstretched and people are moving away from

the city

Population Density Map of Europe

World Population Distribution

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Urban Growth Pattern in Asia

Visu 19Dec

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Urban Sprawl Spatial Patterns:

Europe

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Comparison: Asia Vs Europe

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Urban sprawl spatial patterns

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Vertical Growth in Asia

Sewer capacity

Sewer line length

Urban Growth Pattern

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Out Structured Growth in Europe

Sewer capacity

Sewer line length

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Drivers As the effluent standards changed

“from organic and SS removal to Nutrient removal”

Diversity of wastewaters and specific requirements in each case

i.e.: Toxic industrial wastewaters Vs Domestic wastewater which needs separate treatment technologies

Difficulties of handling large volumes with specific treatment systems

Reuse: Centralized becomes less attractive due to several reasons

i.e: Reuses someone's waste?

Treatment technology became more complex , This complexity demanded new WWTP technologies, making centralized WWTP un-attractive..

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Sustainable Sanitation System

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First Generation Decentralized WWTP

(1- 1000 m3/day)

Septic tank (Commonly used at domestic level)

Waste stabilization ponds

Facultative lagoon

Maturation lagoon

Land treatment

Constructed wetland

Technology Drivers: Cost

CostTechnology

Visu 27Dec

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Constructed Wetlands at Greenmount Campus, Cafre

Septic Tank in Bulgaria Waste Stabilization Ponds in France

Constructed Wetland on RisdalFarm, Bear Creek, Iowa.

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Water Reuse Water-Quality Requirements

Concerns for emerging pathogenic organisms

(e.g., the protozoan parasites Cryptosporidium

Parvum and Giardia lamblia)

Drivers for MBR

Incompetence of centralized conventional systems to tackle these requirements

Decentralized WWTP with membrane technology is capable of meeting the requirement

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Rapid growth of urbanization

The discharge of untreated wastewater into environment

Treatment plant

Decentralized Treatment System

Advantages

Less investment cost

Effective for communities with sparse populations

Suitable for different site conditions

Allows more flexible community planning

Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) is a good option for

decentralized systems with meeting Water Reuse standards

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Membrane Bioreactor (MBR)

Influent

Sludge returned

Aeration Tank

Sludge

storage

Clarifier

Excess

sludge

Effluent

Influent

Membrane

unit

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MBRs in Europe

Oxford wastewater treatment plant

HUBER MBR, Germany

MBR plant Nordkanal, Germany

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Open Wastewater Plant cannot be located in a place where tourists are visiting

Swanage Bay

The old pier at

Swanage

Swanage Pier

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Swanage Site and Outfall

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Swanage Site and Outfall

Main process flow

MCC room, Generator,

Extractor fans

Inlet works

screens

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Kubota System Layout

0.4 m polyethylene flat sheets welded to backing plate

Situated above diffuser below which air is injected

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Global Overview Global MBR market is worth $ 420.9 million in 2006

with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.5%

European market, continues to be one of the significant markets and accounts for a 21% share of the total MBR market.

Source: Research conducted by Environment & Building Technologies at Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan

Easten

Europe,

14%

Southern

Europe,

36%

North

Europe,

50%

Easten Europe

Southern Europe

North Europe

European Membrane Bioreactor Market-Revenue Share Estimates by Geographic Region (2006)

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Revenue Forecast for Global Membrane Bioreactor

Market, 2003-2013

0

5

10

15

20

25

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Annual GrowthRate %

Million $Revenue($milion)Growth Rate p.a(%)

Source: Research conducted by Environment & Building Technologies at Frost & Sullivan

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Key Drivers in the Worldwide Market Legislation to curb water pollution and water scarcity

prompting the need for wastewater recycling

Diverse need and application

Water recycling in buildings, municipal wastewater treatment for small communities

Industrial wastewater treatment and landfill leachate treatment

Treatment of wastes generated from agricultural sources and livestock operations

Wastewater originating from food processing industries, removal of herbicides and pesticides and biological nitrate removal

Sports stadiums, shopping complexes and office blocks are becoming typical end users, especially in areas of water stress.

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Status of MBR in Europe

< 100 membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems installed in 2000

Projected annual market growth of 7.9%

Boasts over 350 employed in municipal and industrial wastewater applications

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Drivers and TrendsEuropean MBR market @ $100 million in 2010

One key trend driving this growth is increasing use of MBR systems for decentralized treatment and water reuse

Characterized by medium- and small-sized municipal and industrial MBR systems

Source: Research conducted by Environment & Building Technologies at Frost & Sullivan

Reverse Osmosis 50%

Other10%

Microfiltration 10%

UltraFiltration30%

Market Share of Various Membrane Separation Process in Europe

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Revenue Forecast for European Membrane

Bioreactor Market 2003-2013

Source: Research conducted by Environment & Building Technologies at Frost & Sullivan

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

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50

100

150

200

Annual Growth

Rate (%)

Million $ Revenue($million)

Growth Rate p.a(%)

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Trends

Traditionally, although Scandinavia has been the home of advanced wastewater and sludge treatment systems, acceptance of MBR has lagged with virtually zero penetration in this region. Apart from a few small systems installed by Kubota,

Since 1999, Companies such as Zenon and Kubota have been leading the implementation

of large- and medium-scale MBRs for municipal wastewater treatment in the UK, Germany,

France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain among other countries

The Northern European MBR market is dominated by activity in the municipal sector

• first full-scale commercial MBR was installed in Hungary in 2003• There are now 10 MBR plants in Hungary, four of them municipal plants• Poland is a growing market that only came online with MBR systems since 2006.

More demand for MBR systems from the industrial sector, This region dominates the overall European MBR market with a revenue share of 50%.

The dominant driver for this region is water scarcity prompting a need for wastewater recycling.

Source: Research conducted by Environment & Building Technologies at Frost & Sullivan

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Trends cont.

Accession to the European Union also has catalyzed MBR opportunities in countries such as Cyprus

Cyprus which has recently joined and is the focus of significant investment in water and wastewater treatment infrastructure upgrades

Among the Alpine countries of Austria and Switzerland, mostly the focus is on medium-sized industrial and municipal MBR systems

There are limited opportunities in this saturated market unless demand arises for small household wastewater treatment systems in remote areas.

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Drivers

Number of discrete and small systems are

growing and this trend is expected to be

driven by the following factors:

Experience gained with pilot/small-scale projects

Drastic decrease in the cost of membranes

Availability of subsidies

Small footprint and small reactor volume

Development of guarantees on membrane life spans

and of maintenance contracts.

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Other Drivers MBR markets have received a huge boost in the municipal

segment with legislative drivers such as the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) requiring lower nutrient discharge limits

Implementation of Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC) policies have catalyzed growth of the MBR markets for the industrial sector

The ceiling for discharge is even more severe in the designated “Sensitive Areas” and improvements in membrane performance have resulted in high treatment efficiencies with MBR use

MBR also gains an edge over conventional systems with its ability to substantially reduce the amount of sludge generated

The largest industrial MBR system in Europe in terms of installed capacity is currently installed at a petrochemical facility in Italy,

with a capacity of 47,420 m3/day. Also there’s an increasing trend toward use of MBRs to treat difficult wastewater such as landfill

leachate treatment applications.

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MBR at the Sant’ Erasmo Island Plant collects wastewater by means of a vacuum

wastewater piping system.

Can treat up to 1000 m3/d of wastewater

Has 2 lines of full treatment (denitrification, nitrification, oxidation) each one independent from the other

Has 5 stages of 7 membranes modules each the treatment basins are underground.

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Remote Control System of the Treatment

Plants of the Venice

The remote control system (SisTeMAV) allows to control the state of operation of each plant within Venice and the islands in lagoon

Electrical, analogical and digital signals from each equipment and instrumentation of the plants are monitored and transmitted by GSM network

Monitoring all plants

through GSMVenice

Sant’ Erasmo

Burano

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Need of Decentralized Plant for Small

Islands

Difficult to implement gravity flow sewer lines

Venice

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High-tech Vs Low-tech

MBR Concept

Eco-Sanitation

High-tech Low-tech

Still Popular

in Europe

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Eco-Sanitation

Save water

Recycle local nutrient

Extract energy

Open sustainable options for all both in rich

and poor countries

Ecology

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Advantages of Eco-San

Reduce the cost for pipe lines

Can provide sustainable sanitary system

at an affordable cost

Flexible

Increase health and dignity by introducing

new method to handle fecal matter

Recycling and saving resources

Water saving by using water saving toilets

and reuse grey water

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Technologies

Urine Diversion Toilets

Composting Toilets

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Sweden Urine diversion is using in several urban houses

such as,

Palsternackan(50 apartment)

Understenshojden(44 apartment)

Geber(30 apartment)

Newest Kullan(250 apartment)

Black water and household organic waste are used

for Biogas production

Grey water is treated in a natural system

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In Bergen, second largest city, 42

condominiums collect black water

using one liter flush vacuum toilets

and have onsite grey water

treatment.

Liquid composting provides a

sanitized mixture of organic

household waste and black water

The grey water treatment system

are compacted (1-2 m2 per person)

Norway

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Toilet in City Centrum with a view…And they constitute a substantially small package of world inhabitants

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Toilet with a View and Natural AC

Smile please….

Raw Practices in Rural

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Cool.. Stuff…

Visu 59Dec

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A Bit Ahead…

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