Water & Wastewater Asia March/April 2019

18 | IN PERSON
Q: What are some of Veolia’s recently introduced/major
sustainable water treatment technologies?
energy used. In addition, AQUAVISTA is also able to optimise the
life cycle costs of standard technologies and products.
FT: Veolia is committed to delivering cutting-edge technologies and
innovative, integrated solutions to help our clients grow sustainably.
Our stable of water technologies enables us to help turn wastewater
into a resource. We offer a wide range of technologies that allows
for water to be treated for non-potable usage such as cleaning
and washing and helps both our municipal and industrial clients to
conserve fresh water resources. Some examples include Hydrotech
Discfilters that we showcased at POWER-GEN Asia 2018, the Actiflo ®
and Actiflo ® Pack high-rate sand ballasted clarifier, and membrane
technologies offering various filtration and reverse osmosis options.
We are also able to deliver energy-efficient water treatment services
to clients and implement energy neutral or energy positive strategies.
Anaerobic digestion is a proven way to produce biogas, a renewable
energy source which can easily be converted into electricity and
useful heat in cogeneration plants, or injected into the gas grid
after purification using our Memgas technology. An example is
our Memthane ® technology, an Anaerobic Membrane Bio-Reactor
(AnMBR) which maximises renewable energy production while
producing high-quality effluent that can be reused or discharged.
Other advanced technologies such as thermal hydrolysis (Exelys,
Biothelys) or co-digestion, also enable Veolia to offer clients
energy neutral wastewater treatment plants, and our AnitaMox
and Struvia technologies provide for sustainable treatment of,
and resource recovery from the resulting sidestreams.
For organisations looking for a smart solution to enhance their water
treatment processes, our recently introduced AQUAVISTA Plant is
a holistic digital solution comprising a suite of intelligent software
solutions for real-time optimisation of process performance. With
combined optimisation, the wastewater treatment plant and the
sewer network can perform as one integrated treatment system, for
the maximum benefit of the environment and the treatment costs
through features offering flexible consumption of electricity (e.g.
the module postpones the electricity consumption at the plant to
periods where electricity can be bought at the lowest cost), reduction
of chemical consumption and of sludge production, and reduction in
Q: Water treatment can be energy-intensive. Is the company
looking at offsetting the energy used for water treatment or looking
into solving or alleviating this water-energy nexus?
FT: Veolia’s wide range of technologies already includes several
proven solutions for the optimisation of energy consumption and
maximisation of gas production at wastewater treatment plants
— creating value through the production of biogas and renewable
energy. Some of these technologies include solar energy to power
drinking water treatment plants in remote areas and anaerobic
digestion combined with thermal hydrolysis or co-digestions
(e.g. Exelys, Biothelys).
The sludge from wastewater treatment processes is very valuable for
energy recovery — most optimally through the production of biogas.
Biogas is produced through the sludge digestion process and can
be burnt in a combined heat and power system (CHP), producing
electricity and thermal energy. Biogas can also be purified and
injected into a city’s gas network. Another way of recovering energy
from sludge is through sludge incineration, where energy is recovered
in form of electricity and thermal energy — from steam or hot water.
Hong Kong’s T-Park is a prime example of Veolia’s ability to design
and build sustainable waste to energy solutions for our clients. The
treatment and incineration technology used in the T-Park sludge
incineration plant project reduces waste by 90 per cent, while
protecting the natural environment and eliminating sea discharges.
Heat and power are generated during sludge treatment, and used
for the three spa pools located right next to the plant, and supplied
4,000 households.
The Qingdao Maidao water and wastewater treatment plant in China
is a large coastal treatment plant featuring Veolia’s sludge digestion
technology and a combined heat and power (CHP) system. With the
compact waste to energy solutions used, the Qingdao Maidao plant is
able to produce energy to meet 65 – 70 per cent of its overall needs
— reducing the plant’s dependence on energy from the national grid,
Water & Wastewater Asia • March / April 2019