Start-up of demo installation for recycling waste water in China

(25-06-2010)

A mobile demonstration installation for treating industrial effluent was started up on 2 June 2010 with a festive ceremony in the northern Chinese city of Jinjie in Shaanxi province. The demonstration installation was unveiled by NethWater during the Holland Water Week from 6 to 11 June at the Shanghai World Expo. Witteveen+Bos is a member of the NethWater consortium.

The demo installation will have a trial period of six months to establish whether it is possible, using this unique Dutch technology and expertise, to refine treated waste water from an industrial effluent treatment plant for reuse as process water. The mobile demonstration installation – consisting of ultrafiltration, biologically active carbon filtration, and reverse osmosis – has been designed to allow its use in other industries as well. It is hoped that the demonstration installation will result in more projects for NethWater in China, on the basis of multi-year DBFO contracts.

It is important to recycle waste water, particularly in areas of China where there is considerable drought, such as in the north of the country. Due to the increasing demand for water, driven by growing prosperity and the accompanying growth of industry, there is more and more pressure on the limited fresh water resources. Industrial effluent can be upgraded into process water or demineralised water, enabling its reuse in the production process. Chinese PVC manufacturer Beiyuan in Jinjie is very interested in the reuse of water and offered to provide the first location for the mobile demonstration installation. The challenge is to process the effluent despite its constantly changing composition. If the trial setup proves a success, Beiyuan will consider building a full-scale installation.

NethWater in China is a consortium of Evides Industriewater, Witteveen+Bos, and Royal Haskoning. Evides Industriewater is the client in this project. Witteveen+Bos made a substantial contribution to the design phase. In the start-up phase of the installation, too, Witteveen+Bos will input its expertise, both locally and remotely. The project is being financed in part by a contribution from Agentschap NL (an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs) under the 2@there programme.