Everyday helper: Water bottle
8. August 2024
‘Rebel of the water’ in stores from October
27. August 2024
Efficient microplastic removal from process water saves water, energy, and costs
It's not getting any easier; we all realise that. Increasing legal regulations for polymers, plastics, and microplastics, along with high costs for water, waste, energy, chemicals, and plant maintenance, as well as complex pollution scenarios - companies that use a lot of water, polymers and other chemicals in their processes are now facing the challenge of reorganising their environmental, waste, and resource management.
With Wasser 3.0 PE-X®, an adaptive and complete solution is available for a cost-efficient sustainability upgrade for industrial water treatment. The process, which is based on green chemistry, low-tech systems, and circular economy processes, focuses on the removal of microplastics. With low acquisition and operating costs, this not only improves water quality, but also reduces the resource utilisation, waste generation, and total energy consumption (compared to competitors).
Microplastics - danger recognised, danger averted?
Microplastics in the water cycle have become a global and constantly growing environmental problem, with public awareness rising thanks to buzzword journalism and fatalistic communication.
These small plastic-based particles (< five millimetres) and have been detected from the Arctic to the deep sea to Mount Everest, in food, animals, and in humans. Their potential risk to humans and the environment is increasingly scientifically analysed with a large amount of potential negative impacts now being reported.
Their impacts on biodiversity, water bodies, oceans, climate, and human and animal health are massive. It is already known today that nanoplastics (microplastics <100 nm) may pose even higher risks and need to be considered in the future in the search for the causes of diseases such as cancer, organ failure and strokes. Yet despite the knowledge of the risk potential posed by microplastics, little is being done to actively combat their spread.
Laws and regulations on the horizon
Legal regulations against the previously unhindered entry of microplastics into the environment are emerging at both a European and national level. For companies that produce, process, or dispose of polymers and plastics, this means reorganising their environmental, waste, and resource management.
This is because microplastics accumulate wherever there are polymers or plastics. These are not only found in products such as packaging, synthetic textiles, and car tires. They are also components in cosmetics, cleaning agents, fertilisers, coatings, and paints and used as additives in a wide range of industrial processes, such as paper production.
Overview of polymers in different products; categorisation and regulations from the perspective of microplastics ©Wasser 3.0
Microplastic particles and dissolved pollutants: cost drivers in industrial processes
Around 400 million tonnes of plastics made from over 200 different types of polymers were produced worldwide in 2020 alone, rising to 391 million tonnes in 2021 – and the figures continue to rise. Polymers are fundamental components of industrial production processes, found in many forms and types of applications, just like water. They often lead to high operating costs for traditional water treatment systems that are also maintenance intensive.
In addition, many industrial wastewaters are significantly contaminated with microplastics, soluble polymers (these are categorised as micropollutants and not microplastics), and other pollutants. These complex and diverse pollution scenarios cannot be adequately treated in conventional - industrial and municipal - wastewater treatment plants. The consequences are rising wastewater charges due to the need for retrofitting, the high costs for the disposal of residual materials, and increasing requirements for industrial discharges into water bodies and sewerage systems.
Hinzukommt, dass viele industrielle Abwässer weitreichend mit Mikroplastik, löslichen Polymeren (diese zählen zu den Mikroschadstoffen und nicht zu Mikroplastik), und weiteren Schadstoffen belastet sind. Diese komplexen und vielfältigen Verschmutzungsszenarien können in herkömmlichen – industriellen wie kommunalen – Kläranlagen nicht adäquat gereinigt werden. Die Folgen sind steigende Abwassergebühren, weil nachgerüstet werden muss, dazu hohe Kosten für die Reststoffentsorgung und zunehmende Auflagen für industrielle Einleiter in Gewässer und Kanalisation.
Microplastic-free production and recycling of secondary materials
It is not only potential future legislations that make it sensible to address the issue of microplastics in industrial water. Water, waste, and energy are all factors that may have a negative impact on companies' economic and ecological balance sheets. They all change for the better with the implementation of the Wasser 3.0 PE-X® process. Here, the holistic process approach and circular economy process design play a key role. One of the main advantages lies not only in the process itself, but also in the fact that the microplastic agglomerates can be further utilised in a circular economy, whereby they may be utilized in the construction sector. This step means that industrial and municipal wastewater treatment plants not only clean wastewater efficiently and easily, but also reuse waste streams at the same time. Microplastic-free production is possible.
And maybe the most interesting point from economic perspective: Not only the waste itself can be reused (which also reduces the costs of waste disposal and can generate costs through the production of construction materials) but also the process water can be reused, which saves a significant amount of money on fresh water and wastewater disposal. Sustainability Upgrade of processes is possible, too!
Microplastic removal as a lever for resource- and energy-saving process optimisation
To achieve microplastic-free production using Wasser 3.0 PE-X®, both the basic minimalist and modular system design and the hybrid silica gels are customised. In accordance with the process-related requirements for separation, time, and water quantity, the system has been designed so that defined quantities of wastewater can be processed in batches and in continuous operations. For a tank size of 200 L, around 2 m² of space is required. The system could therefore be easily integrated into the existing process environment.
The data collected during continuous operation confirms that the Wasser 3.0 PE- X® process offers ecological added value with reduced operating costs. A life cycle assessment (LCA) is also already available.
Due to the simple technical requirements, the investment costs of Wasser 3.0 PE-X® are more than 20% lower than those of competitors. The maintenance requirement is also low. And in combination with the low energy consumption, the total cost of ownership has been reduced by 75% in all previous feasibility studies.
Potential for more climate and environmental protection while reducing costs at the same time
Microplastic-free production with Wasser 3.0 PE-X® is also proving to be a comparable cost-cutting sustainability upgrade in other plastics and water-intensive companies. In addition to improving water quality, measurable contributions are made to achieving the UN sustainability goals, particularly in resource efficiency: reduced water and energy consumption, savings in CO2 emissions and process chemicals, as well as waste avoidance through recycling.
With the implementation of microplastic-free production, companies that produce, process, and dispose of plastics are entering the age of sustainability and circular economy. Contrary to what is often assumed, climate and environmental protection does not mean higher costs - but cost reductions. Compliance with expected regulations for microplastics included.
So, when will you start?
