Are they radical changes?
“For existing buildings it’s sometimes quite an intervention to, for example, create a buffer facility, lay pipes and design it efficiently. That sometimes costs a lot of money and time. And the payback time is long because there is no financial benefit because of the low price of drinking water. Companies must really want to have a green stamp and believe in the water issue. In new construction projects, it is easier to design an efficient production process with minimal use of potable water. Also, by then a separate sewer system is already implemented where rainwater and wastewater are separated. But for the existing situation this is different and more difficult. A simple example: look at any business park on Google Maps and see how many gray roofs there are where rainwater falls and flows off. Capturing that, using it and keeping it within your own facility makes all the difference.”
What opportunities are there for companies to reduce water?
“Smart handling of rinse water in cleaning operations is an important example. How can you reuse rinse water for another process? Or use slightly contaminated (process) water for the first rinse? In addition, it is important for the industry to question the obviousness of drinking water and whether it is necessary to use drinking water quality water for all processes.”
Where there is still little awareness for the water intake, is this less true for the effluent?
“Most questions from the government are about the outgoing flow: the effluent and its impact on surface water. How can you ensure that your effluent becomes cleaner? That is also an important question, because the surface water in the Netherlands is too dirty. We are not going to achieve the European targets we need to meet if we continue like this. By setting limits at the back end, you can also ensure that people are more aware of how they use water.”
What can we do with the effluent?
“We can purify effluent so that the quality is comparable to that of drinking water. The innovative techniques are there. However, I think that here in the Netherlands we are not yet ready to use treated effluent as a raw material. It’s mainly in our minds that we think it’s dirty, unpleasant or unhygienic. This is different in other parts of the world. They are happy with effluent.”
Integration with energy, that’s where I think a lot more can be done.
“The energy transition can go hand in hand with the water transition. Energy reduction is often easier and more tangible. If the setting of a pump is not properly regulated, that is an easy button to turn to save energy without any investment costs. With water, if is often a little more difficult. There are no easy buttons to turn and investment costs are often high. That is why at Bilfinger Tebodin we often tackle energy and water together. For example, we look at the reuse of heat in hot water. Reusing heat in water has a positive impact on energy consumption, but also means that you need less hot water. An integrated approach with multiple aspects can ensure that water reduction plans do become feasible.”
Are they radical changes?
“For existing buildings it’s sometimes quite an intervention to, for example, create a buffer facility, lay pipes and design it efficiently. That sometimes costs a lot of money and time. And the payback time is long because there is no financial benefit because of the low price of drinking water. Companies must really want to have a green stamp and believe in the water issue. In new construction projects, it is easier to design an efficient production process with minimal use of potable water. Also, by then a separate sewer system is already implemented where rainwater and wastewater are separated. But for the existing situation this is different and more difficult. A simple example: look at any business park on Google Maps and see how many gray roofs there are where rainwater falls and flows off. Capturing that, using it and keeping it within your own facility makes all the difference.”
Energy transition can go hand in hand with water transition
What opportunities are there for companies to reduce water?
“Smart handling of rinse water in cleaning operations is an important example. How can you reuse rinse water for another process? Or use slightly contaminated (process) water for the first rinse? In addition, it is important for the industry to question the obviousness of drinking water and whether it is necessary to use drinking water quality water for all processes.”
Where there is still little awareness for the water intake, is this less true for the effluent?
“Most questions from the government are about the outgoing flow: the effluent and its impact on surface water. How can you ensure that your effluent becomes cleaner? That is also an important question, because the surface water in the Netherlands is too dirty. We are not going to achieve the European targets we need to meet if we continue like this. By setting limits at the back end, you can also ensure that people are more aware of how they use water.”
What can we do with the effluent?
“We can purify effluent so that the quality is comparable to that of drinking water. The innovative techniques are there. However, I think that here in the Netherlands we are not yet ready to use treated effluent as a raw material. It’s mainly in our minds that we think it’s dirty, unpleasant or unhygienic. This is different in other parts of the world. They are happy with effluent.”
Integration with energy, that’s where I think a lot more can be done.
“The energy transition can go hand in hand with the water transition. Energy reduction is often easier and more tangible. If the setting of a pump is not properly regulated, that is an easy button to turn to save energy without any investment costs. With water, if is often a little more difficult. There are no easy buttons to turn and investment costs are often high. That is why at Bilfinger Tebodin we often tackle energy and water together. For example, we look at the reuse of heat in hot water. Reusing heat in water has a positive impact on energy consumption, but also means that you need less hot water. An integrated approach with multiple aspects can ensure that water reduction plans do become feasible.”
