There is a new sustainable raw material available, taken from the excess granular sludge released during the treatment of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Epe, the Netherlands. This new sustainable raw material is made possible by the Dutch Water Authority Vallei en Veluwe.
Construction Of The Installation
The board of Vallei en Veluwe has given the green light for the development of an installation that can carry out this process. In the spring of 2020, it has to be finished and working.
Material From Sewage Has Unique Features
This video is only available in the Dutch language
Waste: The Netherlands Creates New Material From Sewage
Kaumera Nereda Gum - samenwerkende partners in beeld
The sustainable and biological raw material, Kaumera Nereda Gum, has a few exceptional qualities. It can retain water, but also repel it. This offers various possibilities for its use in agriculture and horticulture, the paper industry, and the construction sector. For example, if you add Kaumera to the soil, fertilizers can be retained much longer. But you can add Kaumera as well to concrete floors, for a better coating. It lasts longer, and its hardening better.
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Circular Economy
What is a circular economy?
A circular economy (often referred to simply as ‘circularity’) is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. Circular systems employ reuse, sharing, repair, remanufacturing and recycling to create a close-loop system, minimising the use of resource inputs and the creation of waste, pollution and carbon emissions
The goal of the national government is to have a completely circular economy by 2050 in the country. To achieve that goal, Kaumera could play an important role as raw material. Tanja Klip-Martin, chair of the Water Authority, says: "together with our partners, we are fully committed to the research, production, and application of Kaumera to achieve this goal."
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Sewage Purification Technology
What are the different types of wastewater?
Types of wastewater:
Wastewater comes in three main types namely Blackwater, Graywater and Yellow water. This is wastewater that originates from toilet fixtures, dishwashers, and food preparation sinks. It is made up of all the things that you can imagine going down the toilets, bath and sink drains.
The raw material is obtained from the sewage sludge generated by Nereda's sewage technology. In 2012, the Vallei en Veluwe Water Board was the world' s first to start utilizing this technology in Epe. There is way less energy needed to purify the sewage water. This innovative and organic method of wastewater treatment is now used in more and more installations all over the world.
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Creating New Material From Sewage In Two factories
Within a year, the Vallei en Veluwe Water Authority and the Rijn en IJssel Water Authority work together to build two factories. A factory will open in Zutphen in the autumn of 2019. This factory will take Kaumera from wastewater from the dairy industry. Next to the factory in Zutphen, there will be an operational factory in Epe in the spring of 2020. They also extract Kaumera, but then from municipal sewage water. A lot of people are happy with this innovation; the extraction of Kaumera from wastewater is widely supported in this sector. Next to Rijn en IJssel, Vallei en Veluwe, the water authorities of Noorderzijlvest, Vechtstromen, Waterbedrijf Limburg, and Hoogheemraadschap de Stichtse Rijnlanden are also involved.
Working Together
A lot of companies worked together to make it possible to extract Kaumera. They all have their knowledge and expertise to recover, process, and market this new raw material. In this way, they are all working together to create a sustainable, circular economy. This all can be created and developed, thanks to the financial contributions of the Province of Gelderland, the European Union (LIFE), and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (DEI). Collaboration and innovation are essential to make things happen.
Before you go!
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