Water reuse: technology to GreenUp our blue planet

Article #3 – From waste to worth: landmark examples of water reuse facilities across the globe - Part 1: Asia and Africa

Day after day, we are witnessing the development of a global water crisis, which spares no region and questions the way we manage this vital resource. Fortunately, our technologies bring solutions to address this crisis, by consuming more efficiently, by depolluting and regenerating this precious resource.?

It is our prerogative to mobilize these solutions in our territories – and the sooner, the better. Water reuse in particular is a reliable alternative that is already available, mature, and can be applied in most situations, and change the game in the fight for water conservation. Through this series of discussions with colleagues from @Veolia, both top executives and experts, I want to advocate for its accelerated implementation.

The first piece of this series established a diagnosis about the growing global water crisis, and the second one provided more details on what exactly is water reuse, on the various use cases where it can be implemented, and on its benefits.?

For this third piece, I will share the floor with my colleague Christophe M. ,Senior Executive Vice President for Veolia Asia Pacific.

Anne, as a way of introduction, can you please explain the ambition of this third piece??

Anne Le Guennec:

This third article is the first part of a world tour where we will present real-life examples of water reuse facilities that Veolia operates in different parts of the world. I wanted to provide references as different as possible, both in terms of geography and water usage, to illustrate concretely the positive impact that water reuse has in a wide range of situations. In this conversation, Christophe and I will present 3 first facilities, located outside of Europe.?

Veolia Water Technologies is a cross-functional entity: we are the global water technologies experts of the Group, developing solutions to preserve, reuse, and regenerate water resources. Our water treatment solutions are implemented worldwide, starting with the municipal and industrial operation contracts entrusted to Veolia 's Geographic entities.

What we want to convey here, together, is that for us, water reuse is not only a major part of our business; it is also part of our responsibility towards society. That's why we have been at the forefront of efforts to promote water reuse for years. Over time, we have developed a first-class, highly diversified portfolio of world-leading technologies; and since our merger with Suez, we now have technologies suited for all circumstances and types of water. We continue to innovate, developing the best solutions for our customers.

Christophe, can you please explain the importance taken by water reuse in the region where you operate?

Christophe Maquet:?

Water reuse is increasingly important in the Asia-Pacific region. Many 'wet' countries that previously had ample water supplies are now facing the threat of water scarcity, either in the short or long term. Therefore, we are seeing rising interest and requests for support from areas that have never experienced water shortages before, and that now seek to develop strategies and concrete solutions to regenerate resources and minimize the water footprint.

Take for instance Taiwan, which receives abundant precipitation throughout the year. Taiwan faced a severe drought a few years ago, which had significant repercussions on the microelectronics industry, leading to slowdowns or halts in chip production. In response, there has been a strong push for industrial players to design and implement water reclaim strategies.?

In mainland China too, there is growing concern for the preservation of water resources, alongside an increasing awareness of the need to reduce the environmental impact of industries. Consequently, China has progressively strengthened its regulations, and we have successfully developed numerous Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) projects there to meet these needs.

Case study #1 –Tangshan industrial reuse facility (China)

Can you please provide some context around this project??

Christophe Maquet:

The project in Tangshan originated from the needs of our client, Tangshan Iron & Steel (TIS), a major branch of China’s largest steelmaker, the HBIS Group. TIS selected Veolia to construct and operate treatment and recycling facilities for process water from two major industrial sites: a coking plant and a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import plant. After being treated and depolluted, the wastewater coming from these two plants is recycled and reused in the plants' cooling towers.

It is important to keep in mind that northern China experiences structural water stress, and the Tangshan plant is situated in a semi-arid zone. When our client constructed the plant, local authorities imposed strict requirements to limit groundwater extraction and set stringent quality standards for the water discharged into the environment. Building a water treatment facility that met these requirements was a significant challenge 10 years ago.

Anne Le Guennec:?

Indeed! This is especially true given that the process waters from the coking plant are highly contaminated. Treating wastewater of this quality is extremely challenging, and Veolia has been a pioneer in this field. To sufficiently purify the water, we designed a very complex, state-of-the-art treatment train, incorporating highly sophisticated technologies such as reverse osmosis and ultrafine membranes with nanometer-sized separation functional layers. And we were able to design such a system thanks to our unique portfolio of products, technologies, and services, that enables us to address the most complex challenges faced by our industrial and municipal clients.

Can you elaborate on environmental regulations prevailing in China today?

Christophe Maquet:

Environmental norms are now even more stringent than they were when the facility was first built. To some extent, China has been a pioneer in the field of environmental regulations, surpassing many European countries, particularly in terms of water management. Aware of the increasing water stress and looming shortages, both the central government and local authorities have been urging industrial players to reduce their net water consumption and their impact on the aquifer.

For these industries, Veolia serves as a strategic partner, because complying with these regulations is crucial for them to continue production and keep their ‘license to operate’.

What’s remarkable about this project?

Christophe Maquet:

There are several notable aspects of this project. This facility is remarkable from a technological standpoint, as Anne mentioned, but also by the sheer scale of the project, which processes no less than 250 cubic meters per hour, and the fact that the plant operates continuously. This was a crucial requirement for the facility: any interruption in water treatment would force a shutdown of the coking plant, severely impacting the industrial asset. We had to slightly oversize our facility to maintain some buffer capacity, allowing for maintenance without disrupting operations.

Additionally, the water quality is tightly monitored to ensure it meets all quality and environmental requirements.

Lastly, I would like to highlight that for this project, we formed a joint venture with our client TIS. We invested together to build the facility, and we will operate it for a minimum of 30 years. This partnership exemplifies our commitment to building lasting and trustful relationships with our clients.

Case study #2 – Chengde “ZLD” industrial reuse facility (China)

The second project you want to highlight is also in China. What makes it stand out?

Christophe Maquet:

The Chengde water reuse facility, designed and built for another HBIS Group subsidiary specializing in vanadium and titanium extraction, addresses critical environmental concerns. These metals are essential for manufacturing electric batteries, but their extraction generates substantial wastewater with high concentrations of various salts. Releasing this water would severely impact the environment. To comply with stringent environmental regulations, our client was required to significantly reduce both water consumption and effluent discharge. At one point, the local government mandated the complete elimination of discharge.

To meet these stringent requirements, we constructed a “Zero Liquid Discharge” (ZLD) plant. This facility ensures that no water or sludge is released into the environment. Instead, all water is recycled, and the salts from the extraction process are safely separated and removed in solid form.

How does this work exactly? Is this very challenging??

Anne Le Guennec:

Yes, it is highly challenging, and not many players are able to design, build and operate ZLD facilities. This one involves processing wastewater using both evaporation and crystallization techniques, on top of usual water depollution treatments. We recover solids – some salts that have a merchant value are even repurposed – and the purified water is redirected back into the client's processes.?

Veolia was among the very few pioneers to develop the first Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) projects in the early 2000s. We have spearheaded several landmark projects, such as the water treatment facilities for the Pearl GTL (Gas To Liquids) plant in Qatar, a region where freshwater is extremely scarce, and for the Dacia car manufacturing plant in Tangiers, Morocco. In the latter case, the regulatory constraints on water use were very stringent, similar to those in Chengde. The plant could not have been constructed without our innovative solutions to drastically reduce its water consumption.

Since then, we have capitalized on the insights gained from these pioneering projects, extending our expertise to other clients by building similar systems in various other locations.

Christophe Maquet:

The two key success factors for this project were our technological expertise and our deep understanding of field realities on industrial sites. We took full responsibility for the design of the plant, tailoring our solution with remarkable flexibility to meet the client’s specific requirements, recognizing that the realities faced by customers, particularly in the industrial sector, may not always align with initial designs.?

This level of customization, enabled by our expertise in these advanced technologies and our operational DNA, is a hallmark of Veolia's approach.

Case study #3 – Windhoek potable reuse facility (Namibia)

The Goreangab plant near Namibia’s capital city, Windhoek, is the world’s first example of Direct Potable Reuse. Can you tell us more about the context that prompted this innovation?

Anne Le Guennec:

Necessity is the mother of invention! It was the circumstances, and the extreme need to enhance the freshwater supply of Namibia's capital that led to this innovation. Windhoek has very limited water resources: the city is located in an extremely arid area, where the heat causes the majority of the rainfall to evaporate, with barely 1% infiltrating the soil to recharge the aquifers. As early as 1957, the population experienced rapid growth, driving up the demand for potable water, and local authorities realized that available resources were insufficient to meet these growing needs. They implemented water rationing and, in parallel, considered alternative ways to enhance Windhoek's freshwater supply.

The reuse of treated wastewater made possible by emerging technologies appeared as the best solution. After trials conducted in the early 1960s, the Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant was commissioned as early as 1968. Since then, technologies have continued to advance, and a new plant has been constructed and is managed by a consortium that includes Veolia. Today, this plant provides potable water to over 400,000 inhabitants and is still a global benchmark for direct potable reuse.

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What treatments are applied to make sure water is drinkable in total safety??

Anne Le Guennec:

In order to guarantee that the water can be drunk in complete safety, the treatment train implemented involves several successive barriers that eliminate all pathogens, pollutants, and contaminants. Treatments include several filtration stages – including gravity sand filtration, carbon filtration, and ultrafiltration through highly technological membranes – disinfection, and ozonation. The resulting water is of very high quality; it complies with the highest standards, and is continuously monitored.?

Can this be replicated to other geographies??

Anne Le Guennec:

Yes. Actually, it has already been replicated. Other countries facing significant water stress have also been prompted to resort to potable reuse, like Singapore for example, to reduce its dependance to Malaysia. Some American states are also taking this path, like California and Colorado, which have recently adopted regulations allowing Direct Potable Reuse (DPR). France, too, is also experimenting with potable water reuse, although in this case it would be “indirect potable reuse”; the following case study will present the demonstration project that we are leading in Vendée.

This illustrates one key learning: the global water crisis spares no region. It is not confined to developing countries, and it would be a mistake for any country to believe they are totally and indefinitely immune to water stress.

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What is preventing a wider use of Direct Potable Reuse?

Anne Le Guennec:

The key issue is public acceptance – I already addressed this point in the previous article of the series. The underlying technology is now completely mature, and we have a sufficient track record to guarantee that water processed using a multi-barrier approach is perfectly drinkable, in absolute safety. The water produced by DPR processes reaches at least the same quality as any mineral or tap water...

So, it’s mostly a psychological reason that prevents the wider use of DPR. People want to keep this as a last resort... But the examples of Namibia and Singapore demonstrate that when the issue is properly addressed by public authorities, and when they make appropriate efforts to educate about water, populations understand perfectly and support the projects.

However, it is rare for water to be so scarce that it becomes necessary to drink recycled water. In most cases, recycled water can be used for other purposes, such as industrial processes or irrigation, thus reducing the freshwater needs of these sectors, which allows us to save potable water and reserve it for the most noble use—human consumption.?

To conclude this conversation, what is the main message that you want to convey?

Christophe Maquet:

Water scarcity is a reality in most regions. Even in areas where water is abundant in absolute terms, we often lack water of the right quality at the right time. Water reuse allows us to improve how we manage water resources, conserving potable water for the most essential uses, such as human consumption, while employing recycled water for purposes that do not require the same level of quality. This approach is one of the most effective ways to prevent shortages.

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Anne Le Guennec:

Technologies are mature, and we have all the required expertise to accelerate their implementation as well. The real challenge now is to establish the right framework and invest. In this global push, the role we must take on as leading technological players is to ensure that experience sharing occurs, capitalizing on what has worked in one country to replicate it in other geographies.

In the next stop of our world tour of Veolia’s water reuse references, we will head to Europe, where we will discover new projects led by Veolia to meet different needs, resulting in very diverse solutions. While water needs are universal, the context of each country and region is always specific…

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Stay tuned!