Reusing treated wastewater is already a reality for a number of industries: here are 2 real-life applications

The reuse of treated industrial wastewater is now common practice in many sectors of industry. Regardless of their reason for adopting reuse, those industrial water users that have done so are happy with the results. In many cases, they have also used expert input and guidance to maximize these positive outcomes. 

From papermaking to textiles, and automobiles to food, many sectors of industry have already chosen to reuse their treated wastewater. Each adopts the technology solutions that best suit their needs, and each has their own reasons for reusing treated wastewater. 

When cosmetics industry giant L’Oréal (a leading customer of Nijhuis Industries) wanted to explore industrial wastewater reuse for one of its production plants in Poland, it called in this member of the Saur Group Industrial Water Division. Nijhuis Industries is a specialist in water and industrial wastewater treatment solutions, acting either as a technology supplier or for the design, construction and monitoring of complete turnkey installations.  

The main aim of the project was to consolidate the L’Oréal brand commitment to reducing its environmental impact. The installation and commissioning of process water purification systems using reverse osmosis technology now enable the daily production of more than 250 m³ of reusable high-quality technical (non-drinking) water, reducing plant water consumption by more than 50%. 

Treated wastewater can also be reused in the food industry

Another high-profile Nijhuis Industries customer asked the company for its assistance with a treated wastewater reuse project, also in Poland, but this time initiated by a major food company to further expand a poultry slaughterhouse already reputed to be the largest in Europe. In the food industry, treated wastewater can already be reused as boiler feed water and in cooling systems, for example. But this particular project proved more challenging, since it involved reusing treated water in a production setting, and was therefore subject to extremely strict health safety regulations. Nevertheless, this project is essential given the increasing levels of water stress suffered by Poland.

The challenge set for the specialists Nijhuis Industries of Saur Group: produce water identical in quality to drinking water. 

1. An initial six-month pilot testing phase to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed sequence of technologies, which included sand filtration, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis.
2. A second phase to obtain the equivalent of a French Certificate of Health Compliance (Attestation de Conformité Sanitaire (ACS)) for all the materials and products used in the process. This certification is expected to become a European standard in the near future, and effectively demonstrates that these materials and products can be used with drinking water.
3. A third and final phase of full-scale testing to give the local authorities (the equivalent of the French Regional Health Agencies (ARS) that monitor and investigate water health quality) the opportunity to analyze water samples and grant their final approval to the installation. The facility now produces 4,000 m³ of water per day; a quantity that equates to a 60% reduction in its water footprint. The ultimate goal is to double that figure to 8,000 m³ per day on completion of the project.

But despite the fact that the quality of this water is reputed - albeit under the radar - to be superior to that of the drinking water supplied across the region, public opinion remains skeptical about wastewater being reused in food production.  

Which is why the giants of this industry, and particularly drinks producers, all of whom are considering reuse, prefer to present it from the perspective of managing their corporate water footprint.  

For companies like these, the experts at Nijhuis Industries are developing Recycling solutions (the first ‘R’ in the 3Rs strategy - find out more in this article) that will allow process water to be treated even before it passes through a treatment plant, and then be reinjected into the industrial process. This will hopefully break down the final psychological barriers that are currently holding back the large-scale development of reuse strategies. 

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Article en collaboration avec NIJHUIS