Efficient and safe reuse of wastewater
Using water efficiently – DAS Environmental Expert GmbH supports companies from different sectors in optimising their in-house water cycles. Our customers benefit from a comprehensive portfolio of technologies, plants and services – from the initial analysis, planning and process development, all the way through to operating the plants
Responsibility for natural resources
For both humans and industry, water is the most precious resource. So it is no coincidence that the UN’s sustainable development goals include the availability and sustainable management of water. We help our customers to use this commodity responsibly and sparingly. Industrial growth and the conservation of natural resources can go hand in hand thanks to innovative wastewater treatment solutions. Nature is our role model: whether treated for agricultural irrigation or put back into production, thanks to modern environmental technologies in industrial water cycles, process wastewater can be reused again and again. There is huge potential – 40,000 million cubic metres of wastewater are reprocessed and reclaimed every year in the EU alone. However, only a fraction – 964 million cubic metres – of the reclaimed water is reused.
Water reuse – an economic advantage
In industry, water is essential for a large number of processes. Water is required in countless steps during production – not just for washing and cleaning but also for cooling and heating, as a solvent for chemical substances or as a means of transport.
Therefore, responsible handling of this resource is not simply a matter of environment and sustainability, it is also crucial from a business point of view. In many cases, it pays off to treat process wastewater in-house, and to use it over and over again to reduce the cost of supplying fresh water and of disposing of wastewater. An increasing number of businesses pursue sustainable development goals and consider the conservation of resources, the protection of the environment and the assumption of social responsibility to be an integral component of their corporate philosophy. DAS environmental technology experts are the right partners to help with this.
Legal requirements for water reclamation and reuse vary greatly around the world. From the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling to the Guidelines for Water Reuse of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), our experts advise companies throughout the world and help them to comply with environmental regulations and laws.
Did you know? In 2020, the EU Member States adopted the Regulation on minimum requirements for water reuse. This regulation has been in force since 26 June 2020 and will become applicable in the European Union Member States, and therefore in Germany, on 26 June 2023. Contact us.
How does a successful intelligent water and wastewater management system work
Water reuse is defined as wastewater which, depending on the quality required, can be used again, untreated or treated, for a specific purpose. Throughout the world, treated wastewater is often used in agriculture. In Germany, reclaimed water is primarily used in industry (for rinsing or cooling) or in energy production. However, water reuse is not brought about by one specific technology. Instead, it requires a whole interplay of different processes and technologies such as physical/chemical or biological treatment, gravity or membrane filtration, disinfection, evaporation or clarification.
Membrane
Filtration
Reverse osmosis
Biological treatment
Chemical-Physical treatment
What the future of an intelligent and integrated water and wastewater management system will look like, particularly in industry, and which processes are suitable for effective reclamation, are the subjects of current discussion.
Modern technologies form the basis for intelligent water management systems in industrial process cycles. Analyses show that (energy-)efficient, combinable and integrated wastewater solutions that are adapted to wastewater characteristics, use environmentally friendly and sustainable materials and exploit the potential of biological processes, could be the future of resource- and cost-efficient water and wastewater management systems in industries that consume large volumes of water.
Reusing treated wastewater, rather than emptying it out into rivers, is an approach that is becoming increasingly important in industry and research. The essential requirements and risks associated with reusing treated wastewater are the focus, for instance, of the “Future-oriented Technologies and Concepts to Increase Water Availability by Water Reuse and Desalination – WavE” initiative funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education (BMBF). The research projects MULTI-ReUse and “HypoWave – New Ways Towards Water Reuse in Agriculture” have looked into agricultural irrigation with treated wastewater for Germany.
In the MULTI-ReUse project, a combination of ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis treatment processes was tested for the reuse of municipal wastewater. The core processes of ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis are supplemented and combined in different ways by adapted pre- and post-treatment processes such as flocculation, powdered activated carbon dosage, activated carbon filtration and UV disinfection.
This project has confirmed DAS’s approach by which optimised processes are combined with each other precisely in order to efficiently meet customer requirements. DAS accompanies different industries in the introduction or improvement of in-plant water cycles and wastewater treatment. Whether milk-processing companies, the photovoltaics and semi-conductors or battery industry, DAS competence is in demand everywhere.