A player in sustainable development - Dalkia

OUR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
7 major areas
of research
Water: resource protection, water
and wastewater treatment.
Energy: energy solutions to reduce
consumption and combat climate
change.
Waste Management: waste
treatment and recovery.
Transportation: logistics, electronic
ticketing and payment, clean vehicles
and new services.
Analysis: steering analytical research
and coordinating a network of
laboratories.
Health: assessment of health risks
and benefi ts for specifi c population
groups (employees, users and
consumers, and residents near
facilities) associated with company
activities.
Environment: steering research
programs on water resource
management and protection,
environmental modeling, and the
evaluation of risks and
environmental impacts (LCA).
36 2007 ANNUAL REPORT VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT
Modeling atmospheric pollution
Launched in 2006, the research program
on modeling atmospheric pollution
involves developing software that
can be applied to all of our activity areas.
The aim is to build a better
understanding of the mechanisms
involved in the propagation of emissions
and pollution in the atmosphere in order
to contain pollutant concentration levels
in the environment. This approach
should lead to an innovative solution
that will make it possible to defi ne in real
time the concentration of pollutants at
a given point. It will therefore be possible
to modulate activity, and so emissions,
in response to the modeled or measured
concentrations, and integrate these
parameters into plant design. Modeling
is based on an array of data: outfl ow,
meteorology, topography, land use, etc.
Reduced pollution emissions
in composting centers
Research by Veolia Environnement’s
teams aims to improve the design of
composting centers, control and limit
their health and environmental impacts,
and to guarantee compost traceability,
farm-use quality and safety. We are
developing composting centers for
urban organic waste comprising
wastewater sludge and household
and similar waste. It combines the
modeling of windrow aeration systems
with a patented composting technique.
This innovative solution guarantees
the compost’s sanitary safety, reduces
the energy consumption of industrial
composting centers, and limits odors.
It also cuts greenhouse gas emissions,
in particular nitrogen protoxide (N2O), which has a global warming eff ect
310 times higher than CO2. Progress in the use of biofuels
The use of biofuels can reduce the
environmental impacts of transportation
and decrease its greenhouse gas
emissions.
With this in mind, researchers have
tested, evaluated and validated biodiesel
with 30% rapeseed ester, or diester,
recognizing its ability not to undermine
engine performance. Particle fi lter trials
on engines running on biodiesel are
currently under way and we are
examining the possibility of a more
extensive rollout of biofuels to Veolia
Transport’s fl eets.
Green fuels provide Veolia
Environmental Services with a potential
outlet for used oil and researchers are
testing an esterifi cation process for used
oil mixed with petroleum diesel.
Dedicated centers for industrial
saline effl uent
Veolia Environnement is developing
innovative technology to help the
industrial sector treat its effl uent under
the best environmental and economic
conditions possible. The avenues being
explored include analytical methods,
process improvements and
comprehensive treatment process
confi gurations, with a particular focus
on saline effl uent, which is complex to
treat and present in many industrial
sectors.
In Bouqueval (France), various
technologies used to treat industrial
wastewater are being tested on landfi ll
leachate. In Lapouyade (France), another
trial is testing the Cogelix® process that
collects and uses the biogas given off by
waste to generate electricity and the
energy needed to treat the leachate,
thereby reducing treatment costs by
25%. Other research trials have been
carried out with the same goal in mind,
in particular in Bailleul-sur-Thérain
(France) and Xingfeng (China).