Water and Energy - Draft Report of the GWRC Research ... - IWA

achieve the above worded objectives: it is picking the ‘low hanging fruit’ to bring every utility
on the same page.
The GWRC members can support this activity by the water and wastewater sector making the
information on the present State of the Art available with the project Energy Efficiency in the
Water Industry: A Compendium of Tools, Best Practices and Case Studies. (See also chapter 2
and annex A).
Step 2. Reduce of the energy consumption by 20%: optimisation and innovation
The existing systems in the water and wastewater industry haven’t reach the limits of
improvement of its energy efficiency yet. It is estimated that thru optimisation of operations,
retrofitting and innovation of the technologies used in i.e. existing wastewater treatment systems
a reduction of the energy consumption by 20% is quite feasible.
Within the global water community a number of substantial efforts are ongoing to explore the
possible options including the recovery of energy during the processes, the use and/or production
of renewable energy and energy conservation. Examples include the EU project NEPTUNE led
by EAWAG and the WERF Optimisation Challenge.
The GWRC members can support this activity with projects like Minimising energy of Existing
Systems without compromising quality objectives and Revamp Wastewater Treatment
Operations with 20% energy reduction to facilitate the development and implementation of new
technologies and ways of working.
Step 3. Further reduction of the energy consumption with another 80%: a paradigm shift!
The current water infrastructures have been designed and constructed on the basis of views,
requirements, conditions and technologies of decades ago. It is recognised that in the present
systems wastewater treatment, water treatment and distribution are very energy intensive.
It is emphasised that a new conceptual approach – a paradigm shift - of the urban water cycle is
needed to achieve further reduction of energy use and achieved the objectives listed above. New
concepts could include topics like alternative sanitation approaches (vacuum system, separation
at the source), from waste towards resource (phosphor and nitrogen recovery; wastewater as
nutrient for algal based biofuel), microbial fuels cells, tailored water quality and use of
alternative resources etc.
The water and wastewater sector could benefit for technology developments and breakthrough in
related areas like i.e. energy production, sensor development, nanotechnology etc.
During the workshop a number of project outlines are developed to support the paradigm shift
needed. Topics included are An Energy efficient urban water cycle – concepts for the future,
Designing future concepts in existing systems, Revamp Wastewater Treatment Operation (2030),
Nanotechnology based Membranes, and Demonstrations of new concepts.
Global mega events like i.e. the Olympic Games every four year could well serve as effective
opportunities to develop, implement, and show case new concepts for the urban water cycle.
At the workshop it became clear that the availability of a set of tools (‘toolbox’) for Integrated
Performance Evaluation is a prerequisite for an adequate comparison of present and new
systems, and possible options and opportunities for improvement. A set of project proposals are
developed to create this toolbox. In an ideal world, the toolbox should be available from the start
of the journey toward an energy and carbon footprint neutral urban water cycle.
GWRC Water & Energy - Draft report
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