WATER INSIGHT develops practical WISP-3 water quality meter | DEMO SITES

boost new water technology | CHIPS producer Lamb Weston/Meijer aims to

excel in water reuse | NEREDA: the new diamond of the Dutch water sector

INNOVATION @ WORK

watertechnologieinnovatieprogramma

Let’s work together

November 2011

Omslag.indd 1 13-10-11 17:19

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InDeX 4 Vitens 6 Optiqua 8 LG Sonic 10 REDstack 12 demosites 14 DeSaH 16 HCW 18 DHV 20 Water Insight 22 IRIS 24 Lamb Weston/Meijer 26 Paques 28 WLn 30 Pentair X-Flow

Co lo p h o n Innovation@Work is a publication of the Water Technology Innovation Programme. The articles in this supplement were written on behalf of the Water Technology Innovation Office to mark the completion of the Water Technology Innovation Programme.

ContactWater Technology Innovation Office c/o Netherlands Water PartnershipP.O. Box 823272508 EH The HagueNetherlands T +31 70 304 3700www.nwp.nl/en / www.dutchwatersector.com

Publisher:

NovaForum Business Media BV, Pijnacker+31 (0)15-3617433www.waterforum.net

DesignCover: Onnink Grafische Communicatie, HoevenLayout: MarkDesign, Hoofddorp

Photo materialThe photos accompanying the various articles have been made available for this publication by the organisations and companies mentioned in the articles and are subject to copyright.

CopyrightWater Technology Innovation Programme 2011. All rights to content and design are reserved by the Water Technology Innovation Office. Articles from this publication may only be reproduced in part or in full with the source clearly indicated and with written permission from the Water Technology Innovation Office.

To find out more about the expertise of the Dutch water sector, see www.dutchwatersector.com or contact the Netherlands Water Partner-ship, your gateway to the Dutch water sector and its solutions for global water-related challenges. www.nwp.nl/en

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The Dutch approach to innovationWater Technology Innovation ProgrammeThis publication is designed to give our international readers a look behind the scenes in the innovation labs of Dutch water technology, taking you via research and development to application in the home market and, ultimately, the export of products and technologies. From DHV’s – now internationally acclaimed – new Nereda technology to the successful export of an innovative handheld water quality meter from an SME company like Water Insight, Dutch water technology offers customised solutions to the most diverse water challenges.

International multidisciplinary research instituteAll this innovation is underpinned by a strong knowledge base. The Netherlands has an exceptional international research centre in the field of water technology in the form of the Wetsus institute. Uniquely in the world, its research agenda is based upon the requirements of industry and end users. Wetsus has contacts with universities and compa-nies throughout Europe, and many researchers come from

abroad. This contributes to making the research agenda increasingly European, and the institute has the ambition to become the primary centre for water technology in Europe

Government supportRecognising the importance of innovation for the water sector, the Dutch government joined forces with research institutes and water technology companies to start the public-private Water Technology Innovation Programme. The complete programme has a budget of 250 million euros, two thirds of which is contributed by Dutch industry. All the partners featured in this publication have successfully used this programme to help them bring a product or in-novation to market.

Let yourself be inspired by Dutch knowledge and expertise in the field of water technology. The global challenges are great, and it is only by putting our heads together that we can achieve more in solving global water related challenges. Let’s work together.

Aleid DiepeveenDirector of the Water Technology Innovation ProgrammeNetherlands Water Partnership

By Jac van Tuijn

The SWIFT can best be described as a highly intelligent cleaning probe. Vitens and Applus-RTD jointly developed a device that can be pushea through water pipes that are in an operational condition for inspection. According to Anne Fijma, one of the inventors of the SWIFT, Vitens and the former Röntgen Technologische Dienst (RTD) started its development in 2006. “The initial reason was related to the way hospitals use nano medication to take internal photos,” Fijma recalls. “Vitens wanted to know whether something similar would be possible for inspecting water pipes. As equipment also had to be applied to the outside of the pipes, it was soon shown to be impossible. Despite this disappoint-ment, our enthusiasm was now awakened and Vitens, RTD and the University of Twente established a consortium for a specific research programme under the umbrella of Wetsus/NL Agency. The research was focused on an in-line inspec-tion technology that would provide more data about the status of the water network to make it easier to determine when a pipe needs to be replaced. This could save drinking water companies a considerable amount of money; both when a pipe is replaced in advance to prevent pipe failures, and when replacement is delayed because the condition of the pipe is shown to be good enough.”

Testing in the test pipe“The consortium had been some way towards developing an intelligent probe at Wetsus when the need arose to do tests in an actual water pipe section,” Fijma continues. “When this was shown to be too difficult, it was decided to install

SWIFT provides insight into pipe condition and deformations In-line pipe inspections for drinking water companies

Drinking water company Vitens, inspection company Applus- RTD and the University of Twente have developed a probe (SWIFT) with measuring instruments and GPS that can be pushed through operational water pipes. The SWIFT was recently tested in an actual water pipe for the first time. Earlier test measurements had taken place in a test pipe in Leeuwarden that was specifically installed for the purpose. The SWIFT’s data on the condition of the pipe is relevant to the asset management of drinking water companies as it can help determine when a pipe can best be replaced. Anne Fijma of Vitens and John van Doornik of Applus-RTD discuss the development of the SWIFT and the support they received via the InnoWATOR subsidy.

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At work: The SWIFT at Vitens’ drinking water location Wierden Vitens’ drinking water extraction location Wierden is one of the first locations where the SWIFT was used in operational conditions. It was pushea through a 500 mm PVC water pipe over a distance of 2,500 metres between two inlets. Similar to a cleaning probe, the SWIFT was pushed onwards by the flowing drinking water. On its course the probe performed various measurements including the roundness of the pipe, while a special gyroscope installed behind it continuously registered the X-Y-Z coordinators to establish the exact location of the pipe.

a specific testing pipe near Leeuwarden. This became an InnoWATOR project that we call the ‘IJkpijp’ (test pipe). In this pipe we can push the Swift back and forth between two inlets over a distance of 650 metres. And during its move-ments, the probe provided us with a wealth of in-line data. Initially we also used a TV camera. Although we were able to get clear images, they were not sufficiently detailed to determine the condition of the pipe. This is why we chose to use ultrasonic sound waves, although the camera can still be attached to the probe if so required.” With this latter point, Fijma confirms that all kinds of sensors can be attached to the probe if so required.

Data processing for asset management The sound waves can help detect fractures, seam ruptures and deformations in the pipe, while the GPS determines the exact position of these weaknesses. Additionally, the Swift can use its GPS to indicate the exact position of the pipe itself. “We recently inspected our first actual pipe,” Fijma continues. “This included a drilled pipe segment that was installed up to 15 metres below surface level. Our plan is to guide the SWIFT through our distribution network on a regular basis. This does require, however, that we further reduce the size of the device so that it can also be inserted via small standpipes.”

According to John van Doornik, who is taking part in the development on behalf of Applus-RTD, the success of the SWIFT will mainly depend on how far the data processing

can be integrated in the total asset management of a drink-ing water company. “Companies already have software for reporting their pipe inspections. It is necessary that the data provided by the SWIFT can be included in these reports.” Van Doornik says that Applus-RTD is now mainly focusing on the total asset management for drinking water companies, including inspection with the SWIFT. “I can imagine that at a later stage firms will purchase their own Swift and have their operators push the sensor through the pipes,” he adds.

First international interest Both Anne Fijma and John van Doornik mention the uniqueness of the test pipe project. Fijma: “The pilot test was under time pressure because it was part of the Inno-WATOR programme. We had a mutual commitment to continue. If one was to perform such an experiment alone, there is a chance that sceptics within your own organisation could gain the upper hand in case of setbacks. If we hadn’t participated in the InnoWATOR programme, we would never have formulated a concrete goal for where we wanted to be with the development in three years. Now we did, and we generated the intended test data.” The test pipe in Leeuwarden will soon be disassembled. There has already been international interest in the SWIFT, for example from South Africa and Mozambique. In these countries Applus-RTD is in discussions about using the SWIFT to detect leaks. Drinking water companies in both countries want to reduce their leakage levels from 40 to 20 percent.

SWIFT provides insight into pipe condition and deformations

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By Jac van Tuijn

Optiqua eventLab detects pollutants in water pipesOnline warning system for water pollution

The actual sensor is no larger than a finger tip, and can detect organic substances in water pipes that were not there before. “The technology was developed at the University of Twente, and we now hope to market it via our company Optiqua,” says director Jos-Willem Verhoef. “We thought of the water sector because it produces drinking water that must meet very strict requirements. The water is pumped into the distribu-tion network and the quality of the end product is then tested again at random among end users. There is no quality control between drinking water companies and consumers. When we came into contact with Vitens and it expressed an interest in our technology, it soon became clear that we would start by focusing the further technological developments on the water sector.” Singaporean water company PUB is now also involved in the development, and the sensors have been in operation for six months.

Integrating technology“Looking back it has been a long road developing a scientific idea into an applicable product,” reflects Verhoef. “At the university they aim to show that the principle works, but a water company needs to see a unit with a red light that starts flashing when something is wrong.” That said, Verhoef is impressed with how Optiqua handled the situation: “We started as economists with the drive to start a company, which is rather unusual. In most cases technologists are the ones who bring new products on to the market. Naturally we did bring

Optiqua aims to conquer the world with a sensor the size of a chip that can detect sudden pollution online in drinking water networks. In recent years the company worked together with drinking water com-pany Vitens and Singapore water company PUB to further develop sensor technology that was originally developed by the University of Twente. According to managing director Jos-Willem Verhoef of Optiqua, the InnoWATOR project significantly boosted the development into a useable product. The first sensors are currently being tested in practice in drinking water systems in Leeuwarden, Zwolle and Singapore. Ver-hoef believes that the next step into a warning system for entire pipe networks is near.

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At work: eventLab in Singapore drinking water network The first Optiqua sensors have been placed for testing in Vitens’ distribution network in Zwolle. Since late 2010 an EventLab system has also been operational in the Chest-nut drinking water installation of Singapore water company PUB. The device emits a warning when possible pollutants are detected in the drinking water before the water is pumped into the distribution network. PUB is involved in the development of the EventLab system, and has indicated its intention to equip the entire Singapore drink-ing water distribution network with the Optiqua sensor.

Optiqua eventLab detects pollutants in water pipesOnline warning system for water pollution

technologists into our team. They were necessary to conquer obstacles and maintain our one technological advantage: Di-rect on-the-spot water quality measurements. We were quickly placed in the category of laboratory applications, but we want to distinguish ourselves from this sector.”

The art of breaking lightThe sensor consists of a chip through which light is trans-mitted. It has a small window from where light is emitted outwards over which water flows. The breaking index of the light through the water is measured continuously. As soon as it changes, for example as a result of the sudden presence of pollutants, the sensor detects this and emits a signal. Although the development of a sensor the size of a chip is very special, translating such technology into a commercial success is also an achievement. “We discovered that this revolves around more than just the sensor,” Verhoef explains. “It is about the entire distribution network and the data communica-tion involved. A drinking water company wants to detect any incident, which is why the InnoWATOR project was so important to us. In addition to the financial contribution, we benefitted from the opportunity to work with Vitens as end user, Philips as ICT specialist and the RIVM as research institute to perfect the data processing and data interpreta-tion. Thanks to the project, we were able to show that our EventLab system detects the most relevant substances that can pollute drink water in very low concentrations. Our EventLab

sensor sends out a warning if a sudden presence is detected. Although we can’t determine which pollutant it is, the op-erator of the drinking water network can take direct action and shut off the affected parts.”

The Singapore connection“Via the cooperation with Vitens we came into contact with Singapore water company PUB,” Verhoef continues. “This company is now also participating in and strengthening the sensor’s further development. Here in the Netherlands we have a basic knowledge of the technology from the Univer-sity of Twente. In Singapore there is a team that can develop this into an end product to the benefit of both parties.” Meanwhile, the product development has reached its next stage, says Verhoef. “The first EventLab systems have been operational at drinking water installations in Leeuwarden, Zwolle and Singapore for several months, but we will have to increase the scale of the warning system to enable it to monitor a complete drinking water network. We are cur-rently trying to interest companies worldwide. It helps that we can refer to a successfully finalised InnoWATOR project, demonstrating the Dutch government’s faith in our system. This is especially important as most drinking water com-panies are quite conservative and usually wait to see which way the wind blows.” 7

New type of LG Sonic increases range with lower energy consumption

Killing algae with sonic vibrations

LG Sound has been selling the LG Sonic for killing al-gae in ponds, pools, cooling towers and other water in-stallations worldwide for over a decade. By participat-ing in a major European research project, the company acquired a great deal of know-how about the function-ing of ultrasonic sound waves and their impact on algae. After considerably improving its product as a re-sult of these new insights, LG Sound has continued its research independently in its own lab to stay ahead of the competition in terms of knowledge development. The technology can be even further improved, says microbiologist Lisa Brand of LG Sound. To introduce the device for algae control in surface water in Dutch municipalities and district water boards, the company called in 'Mannen van de WIT.'

“Scientists in the field of ultrasonic sound initially refused to believe us,” says Lisa Brand proudly about the unique per-formance of the LG Sonic, a small device that can be installed in water. “They thought that it would require a great deal of energy to kill algae in large water bodies with ultrasonic sound waves. Our technology, however, is based on resonance which means that you only need 5 watt to cover a water surface of 200 metres.” The device produces ultrasonic sound waves that break down the cell walls of the algae. Over 10,000 LG Sonics have already been installed worldwide, mainly in pools, irrigation systems, drinking water installations, cooling towers and ponds. Recently, LG Sound started to promote the LG Sonic as a way for municipalities and district water boards to control blue algae in ports and large water surfaces.

Finding proofThe success of the LG Sonic can mainly be attributed to the enormous efforts of director Yousef Yousef to continue the development of the device, using a dedicated laboratory. “We employ biologists and ecologists who are also responsible for sales. This means we do not have any actual commercial people in employment,” says Brand who has been working at LG Sound since 2007. “When our company was established, we still had to very much prove our technology. We took part in a large European study with four universities where we acquired

By Jac van Tuijn

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New type of LG Sonic increases range with lower energy consumption

Killing algae with sonic vibrations

a great deal of knowledge about how ultrasonic sounds kill algae and which water parameters are involved. This led to an improved product with an entirely new technology in 2008. It only used half of the energy, yet had a much higher efficiency that our previous product. This gave us a firm lead over the competition.”

Revealing more ultrasonic secrets LG Sound did not stop with this extensive European project. “Our research has woken up the world and now everyone is performing studies into the subject matter. To maintain our knowledge lead we have to continue our own research,” Brand explains. Currently the company is once again involved in a large European study as coordinator. “We want to make our product even more efficient, more compact and more user-friendly.” In preparation for the new study LG Sound used the network of the Water Technology Innovation Programme. “As we had been involved in European research before, we had to find new research partners,” Brand continues. “The innovation programme brought us into contact with various interested parties.”

Continuous functioning LG Sound also used the assistance of Mannen van de WIT as this part of the innovation programme enables companies to

At work: LG Sonic in the world’s largest pool The largest swimming pool in the world – eight hectares, the equivalent of 8,000 standard pools – is situated in the Chilean beach resort San Alfonso del Mar, near Santiago. It consists of a series of lagoons along the coast that have been cut off from the sea with a dam. The pool water consists of salt water from the Pacific. The owner of the resort, Crystal Lagoons Corp., has installed a custom network of 13 LG Sonic devices to ensure that the water treatment systems remain algae-free.

call in the support of an experienced water technologist free of charge. “Mannen van de WIT joined us on the road to tell municipalities and district water boards about how well our LG Sonic works against algae in surface waters,” says Brand. “It helped that water managers heard the story from someone else than the supplier. Two municipalities were interested and we have begun talks with them on starting trial projects.” According to Brand the broad knowledge of Mannen van de WIT helped convince water managers of the benefits of the LG Sonic. “Other systems such as the bubble curtain, mud balls and the product Phoslock, don’t take away the cause, which means that the algae problem will continue to return every year.”

Maintaining the leadTo maintain its lead in the algae control market, LG Sound partners on a permanent basis with the University of Applied Sciences in Leiden and universities and applied research insti-tutions in Slovenia, Japan and England. “Two biologists have been researching algae and ultrasonic sound in our lab for two years,” Brand concludes. “It is very expensive and it was a difficult decision to make, but we have managed to build up considerable expertise on the subject. This means that we know exactly what we are doing and how we can bring an even better product onto the market.”

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Blue Energy generation using reversed dialysis is as simple in the lab as it is complicated in practice. This is the clear conviction of REDstack, a company created specifically to develop the technology needed to build a true osmotic power plant. “We had conversations in Wetsus’ theme group for energy and a decision was made by Landustrie and Magneto in 2005 to form a consortium called REDstack,” managing director Pieter Hack remembers. “KEMA and Erik Middelman from NedStack had already done a number of experiments with reversed electrodialysis and the results were promising. Wetsus and REDstack then picked up the gauntlet and decided to develop the technology necessary for a fully functioning power plant.”

Complicated in practiceHack’s story of all that REDstack has achieved since 2005 makes it clear just how complicated it has been to imple-ment this technology in practice. “Our pilot plant at Frisia has been through a rough time. Parameters such as tem-perature, pH and salt concentrations initially drifted in all directions – it is a miracle that the membranes survived this. We will soon install new membranes which will allow us to produce more power, since they, unlike the current ones, will be specially designed for reversed electrodialysis.” Hack further stresses that the technology development is focusing primarily on the membrane and the design of the module

ReDstack: New unique technologies for Blue energyGenerating power from the contact between fresh and saltwater

It is easy to bring fresh and saltwater into contact in a laboratory and use reversed electrodialysis (RED) to generate a small current of a few volts. But is there a way to increase this production to a few megawatts, or even to the capacity of a genuine power plant of 200 MW? The company REDstack is trying to answer this question with the world’s first operational Blue Energy (osmotic power) plant, currently under construction at Frisia Zoutfabrieken in Harlingen. There are also preparations for another pilot plant on the Afsluitdijk (the enclosure dam between the North Sea and IJsselmeer lake). According to REDstack’s managing director Peter Hack, blue energy has huge global potential and the Netherlands is well placed to set the tone for its development.

By Jac van Tuijn

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(stack) in which the membranes and electrodes converge.

Lots of membranes As fresh and saltwater stream along a cation selective and an anion selective membrane, they produce a voltage of 80 mV. A thousand of these membranes together form a so-called stack that produces just 80 volts once an anode and a cathode are connected to either end. “In other words, an enormous number of stacks is needed to constitute a 200 MW power plant such as the one planned for the Afsluit-dijk,” Hack explains. “This is why one of REDstack’s first priorities was to find a suitable membrane supplier.”

“We looked for an ion selective membrane that could be made for less than €2-5/m2. Such a low price is necessary in order to ultimately be able to generate electricity for 8 cents per kWh. But the cost is not the only variable. The membrane supplier needs to have an enormous production capacity – we are talking about several square kilometres per year – and there is not a single supplier in the world that can deliver this type of membrane in these quantities.”

Ion selective membranes from TilburgCoincidentally, Fuji joined Wetsus at a timely moment, creating a special synergy. “Fuji, which used to produce rolls of film in Tilburg, had to mothball its plant due to the mas-

At work: Blue energy for Frisia ZoutfabriekenA pilot installation of REDstack has been operational at Frisia Zoutfabrieken in Harlingen since 2009. The installation works with the differences in salt levels in the water streams at the plant, which are ten times higher than the difference in salt con-centration between the IJsselmeer and the Wadden Sea. While the plant initially only produced a few watts, it is now generating a few hundred. Once the new membranes are installed the production will increase to several kilowatts. The installation at Frisia will ultimately provide for part of its own power consumption.

ReDstack: New unique technologies for Blue energyGenerating power from the contact between fresh and saltwater

sive shift to digital cameras,” Hack reports. “The main office in Japan notified the factory that it would need to find new markets or it would be definitively closed. This is how Fuji got on the track of ion selective membranes. Just like for film rolls, the whole art of producing such membranes is in combining several thin layers of polymers and colloids to a plastic film.” Hack expects that the first membranes developed by Fuji will be tested at the pilot plant in Harlingen soon.

Scale increases take time REDstack has already achieved much by making reversed electrodialysis technology applicable to Blue Energy genera-tion. Nevertheless, further increases of scale will take years, according to Hack. “The REDstack technology offers unprec-edented opportunities in numerous river mouths worldwide, and the Netherlands has the potential to be a world leader in osmotic power. A small company like ours can’t do this alone, however.”

“There is a cautionary tale in the development of windmill technology – where we once had a potential global player in the Lagerweij company, it ultimately lost out to foreign competition because it had no home market to speak of. REDstack still has a long way to go to get to the market and we hope that the government and the Dutch energy sector will continue to support us until then,” Hack concludes.

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Demo sites boost new water technologyPlug and play

Plug and play…Either at the sewage treatment plant in Leeu-warden, at a Noord-Bergum drinking water station or at the saltwater treatment plant at Frisia Zout in Harlingen. Early next year, the Antonius Hospital in Sneek will also place its waste-water at the disposal of technology companies who wish to test their equipment in practice. And there are plans for a similar demo site at a greenhouse company.

“The idea is to give companies with new water technologies easy access to a water stream where they can carry out field tests,” Heleen Sombekke explains. She works at Wetsus and is in charge of this promising new formula. “We provide the facili-ties, such as a solid floor, connection points with the host plant and the required permits. A company that wishes to carry out tests only needs to bring its water treatment installation, which can simply be linked up to a water flow”, says Sombekke. Wet-sus is helping bridge the gap between lab tests and the construc-tion of a pilot installation.

Getting to market fasterUsing the demo site can considerably reduce the time required for new water technology to go from laboratory to market.

By Jac van Tuijn

There are facilities at various locations in the Fries-land province where innovative water companies can test new technologies at pilot plants. These demonstration sites are an initiative by research institute Wetsus to give a boost to promising new water technologies. There are now three such loca-tions in Friesland as well as plans for several more. According to Heleen Sombekke, who is responsi-ble for the demonstration sites at Wetsus, they are ideal for SMEs involved with water technology.

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Demo sites boost new water technology“AquaExplorer’s work at the Frisia demo site has been a good example of this,” Sombekke points out. “The company was able to make use of our facilities and deploy their test rig to carry out practical tests on the thickening of the membrane concentrate released from salt water. The company already has its first customer, a Texan oil company.”

According to Sombekke, the demo sites are ideal for small businesses. “Large water technology companies can usually carry out field tests at plants belonging to their existing cus-tomers. SMEs do not have such relationships, which is why we set up this solution for them. Since all the basic facilities are present at the demo sites, we reduce costs and save them the hassle of requesting a licence.”

Mutual inspiration with scientistsAnother important advantage of the demo site is that they are all situated close to Leeuwarden, keeping the lines of commu-nication with Wetsus short. “This means that our scientists have easy access to the data provided by the field test and can adapt further research to the results. Alternatively, a water technology company that encounters a problem can quickly

turn to the Wetsus lab and staff for help,” Sombekke says. She also underlines the extent of knowledge exchange between the water technology company carrying out research and its host facility.

Self-financing by the northern netherlands Provinces cooperation fundFinancing for the construction of the demo site came from funds made available by the Northern Netherlands Provinces regional development organisation (under the Koers Noord programme) and the EU (under the European Regional De-velopment Fund). Wetsus stimulated and facilitated the actual construction of the site, while members of the Mannen van de WIT team, an initiative of the Water Technology Innovation Programme, are also active behind the scenes.

“Many water technology companies working on innova-tive technologies are connected to Wetsus and also request advice from the Mannen van de WIT experts. We maintain a comprehensive approach,” says Sombekke, who is currently working on attracting more businesses to use the demo sites. “They are open to everyone.”

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DeSaH delivers customised work with sanitation conceptCashing in on raw materials and energy

“We are always working on the optimal wastewater concept. This is different for every project, depending on customer needs and project specifications,” director Brendo Meulman says. A sister company of the Frisian water technology firm Landustrie, DeSaH has been carrying out studies, creating designs and real-ising innovative and sustainable sanitation systems since 2005.

“As a company, we focus on maximising the system yield. While this primarily means recovering energy, there is fortunately also an increasing focus on recyclable raw materials,” Meulman explains.

More than just water treatmentDeSaH’s first project was the separate wastewater treatment of 32 houses in Sneek, with black water (toilet effluent) kept apart for fermentation. While the company initially focused mainly on black water treatment, it soon broadened its focus to integrated treatment of both black and grey water with energy recovery. Thanks to an InnoWaTOR project, the pilot in Sneek was expanded with the processing of grey water in 2007.

“Integration of water systems and energy provision is becom-ing more prominent,” Meulman adds. “We are now providing sanitation for a new housing estate in Sneek where 232 houses will eventually be built, 62 of which are already completed. The houses will be equipped with low temperature heating fed from a collective central system, which will use heat generated from sewage and work partly on biogas from the fermenting plant. We also recently delivered our first system abroad at a boarding school in Ukraine.”

By Jac van Tuijn

For each of its projects, DeSaH seeks to optimise the collection, transport and processing of wastewa-ter. Company director Brendo Meulman is eager to change the perception that his company only has one solution for decentralised sanitation and reuse. He prefers to talk about a new sanitation concept, which includes water recycling, recovery of raw materials and energy provision, of which water treatment is only a subset. DeSaH has started work on a new sanitation project at 32 residences in Sneek and is on the verge of major expansion.

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DeSaH delivers customised work with sanitation conceptIncreasing yield “The better we can offset our operating expenses with income from the recovery of raw materials and energy, the more our customers wish to keep the installation operating,” Meulman says. “This is unique for an environmental installation, which is why DeSaH is constantly looking for ways to make resources more productive. For instance, we have a fermenting plant in an office in Wageningen which runs entirely on sewage. The fermentation residue goes to an algae reactor, where we study the useful substances produced by the algae – their fatty acids in particular are very valuable. Once we know which substances are useful, we can find out which algae we need in order to produce them, and the conditions we need to grow these algae. This is a totally different approach than in conventional water treatment – technology is developed on the basis not only of environmental concerns, but also useful compounds that can be produced.”

Scepticism in the water sectorThe two projects in Sneek have generated a great deal of atten-tion for this new approach to sanitation. “It feels like we can easily enter new fields now,” Meulman says. “Even the tradi-tionally sceptical municipalities and water boards are interested.

At work: New sanitation for residential district in SneekSixty-two of the 232 planned houses in the new residential district Noorderhoek have been completed and connected to the new DeSaH sanitation system. The black water (toilet effluent), grey water (other effluent) and organic household waste (vegetable and fruit waste) from the houses will be transported to a ferment-ing plant where the organic material will be converted into biogas. The biogas and heat developed from grey water will then be used by a central facility to deliver heating water to the houses. Partners on this project are the municipality of Sneek, Friesland province, STOWA, the Friesland district water board and hous-ing corporation De Wieren.

They initially compared the new sanitation systems with waste-water treatment plants, without realising that we are not offer-ing a replacement. We provide additional options for specific situations. The Netherlands is a densely populated country and a centralised treatment plant is a good solution for many places. However, our system can, for instance, be interesting for new residential areas where sewage pipes have not yet been laid and the local wastewater treatment plant has insufficient capacity for the wastewater from additional houses.”

Reference projects in the netherlandsDeSaH will continue to focus primarily on the Dutch market for the time being. It is, however, keeping an eye on other parts of the world, such as Asia, Africa and South America, where the market for decentralised sanitation is completely open. “If you ask people in developing countries what they want, they will invariably say a flushing toilet,” Meulman observes. “This is clearly considered the best op-tion there, just as it is here. A flushing toilet cannot work without a good sewage system, however. It is therefore cru-cial for us to have good reference projects in the Netherlands – if we wish to sell abroad, we must first show that things work well here.”

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Guest lessons generate enthusiasm for water technology among students

Water technology: A hot topic for science papers

Water is a popular topic for guest lessons and science projects in primary and secondary schools. This means it is particularly important to teach the subject properly, states Jos van Dalfsen of Wetsus’ education team in Leeuwarden. Van Dalfsen has been working on the team for four years and is in charge of teaching packages. He is also regional co-ordinator for the youth campaign Human Capital Water in the northern Netherlands, where he encourages high school students in their final year to opt for water technology as the topic of their science paper. Van Dalfsen was a key driver behind the national website www.ikonderzoekwater.nl, which provides students with lots of useful information for their papers.

Support from the water sectorAccording to Van Dalfsen, the site is currently attracting more and more visitors. One of the factors in its success, he adds, is that new information is constantly added. “Especial-

By Jac van Tuijn

Secondary school students increasingly choose water technology as the subject of their science papers noticed Jos van Dalfsen, member of Wet-sus’ education team and coordinator of the youth campaign Human Capital Water for the northern Netherlands. He helped set up the increasingly popular website www.ikonderzoekwater.nl, where students can access information on various issues related to water. Guest lessons are another way to raise interest in water among young people, and are given at around 100 primary schools in the north of the country.

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Guest lessons generate enthusiasm for water technology among students

This June, Rogier Burger from the Marne College in Bolsward won the title Knapste Waterhoofd (‘cleverest water brain’) 2011 with his paper on a new water treatment technology. He went on to represent the Netherlands in the battle for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. In preparation for his presentation in Sweden, Burger was given the opportunity to carry out several experiments in the Wetsus lab so that he could provide data support for his new technique.

ly teachers benefit from this when wanting to provide their students with up-to-date facts – they may not be able to follow developments in the water sector themselves, which is why we set this up for them on the site.”

Furthermore, the site brings students into contact with experts in the water industry who can provide support. “For each theme, we propose a company or institution from the water sector to a student to assist them in writing their paper. This ensures that the scientific content is of a higher quality and more realistic,” Van Dalfsen says.

Popular visits to the labIt took a while before the site could provide a broad the-matic offering. “Companies and institutions initially feared that they would need to invest a lot of time in this,” Van Dalfsen explains. “Although we still welcome new members, the range of themes and the number of participants has already grown considerably, and we get many enthusiastic responses. The theme of water technology is very popular in the North.”

This is not particularly surprising to Van Dalfsen and the presence of the water technology centre Wetsus plays a major role in this. “We use Wetsus demo packages from the lab for our reading materials. When the education team began giving guest lessons we quickly realised that our curriculum was too abstract. Wetsus, on the other hand, had constructed a number of demo kits for presenting research results at conferences and exhibitions. Based on this, we made our own packages which schools can acquire and use in classes. Furthermore, a visit to a lab has become a popular excursion

At work: Support for student in international competition

for students in the northern Netherlands.”

PhD researchThe concrete results of the education team are difficult to measure and it is not known whether secondary school stu-dents are now more likely to study water technology. There are, however, ways for them to get involved in the subject other than targeted degrees such as Wetsus’ master pro-gramme: Many universities also offer water-related subjects in the framework of their civil engineering, biology, chemis-try and physics programmes.

What can be gauged, however, is the success of the Wetsus Water Challenge. Every year, the institute calls on water engi-neering graduates from all over Europe to join this event. The best students are selected among the entries and subsequently invited to spend a week in Leeuwarden. “This year, we found that three quarters of the candidates were suitable candidates for PhD research,” Van Dalfsen states. “Wetsus has attracted quite a few European candidates in this way over the years.”

Country-wide offerIn the northern Netherlands, building enthusiasm among students for the water sector concentrates mostly on water technology. In the south of the country in the Zeeland province, on the other hand, the focus is primarily on delta technology. Van Dalfsen hopes for more balance in the ap-proach. “The testing phase is now behind us. We know the educational needs and the popular topics. It is up to us to link water technology and delta technology, and offer a com-prehensive nationwide offer to match. This would allow the water sector to present a single point of contact to students.”

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“Once every 25 to 40 years a vital innovation in water technology is introduced,” says Helle van der Roest, leading professional at consulting and engineering company DHV. “And I think that Nereda can be counted among them.” Af-ter the Carrousel and other breakthroughs, the Netherlands seems to have a new success on its hands that is about to conquer the global market. Experts expect Nereda to have a similar worldwide impact as the UASB reactor developed by Professor Lettinga in Wageningen in the 1970s.

The Nereda technology is based on organic waste water treatment with aerobic granules instead of the anaerobic granules that are used in UASB technology. “Ever since

Lettinga’s discovery, scientists have been racking their brains about the possibility of also using granules for aerobic water treatment as they settle much faster than the suspended flakes of activated sludge,” Van der Roest continues. “This would quicken the separation with the treated waste water and allow it to take place in a single organic reactor. As a result, the consumption of energy and chemicals would be considerably reduced along with the space required for waste water treatment.”

Technological breakthroughDelft University of Technology has been looking into the possibilities since 1993, initially with grants from technol-ogy foundation STW, and since 1998 in cooperation with DHV and with support from STOWA. The long expected technological breakthrough came in 2005, when the part-ners finally succeeded in treating the water efficiently with aerobic granular sludge in a pilot installation at the sewage treatment installation in Ede.

“From that moment on we wanted to speed things up,” Van der Roest continues. “Although the technology still had to be finalised, we had to start with practical applications to fore-stall copycat behaviour abroad. This is an important thing to remember: The water technology industry is not the same as it was 40 years ago. Back then, the Netherlands had a huge lead in water technology, and there was plenty of time to develop new technologies and concepts. Nowadays innova-

Nereda: The new diamond of the Dutch water sector Waste water treatment with aerobic granular sludge

The Dutch water sector has a new diamond that is receiving international acclaim: The Nereda water treatment technology, developed by a partnership between DHV, Delft University of Technology, STOWA and six district water boards. The technology is based on the use of aerobic granules as an alternative to the conventional activated sludge process. Nereda’s potential is being recognised at an international level and has already won a number of awards.

By Jeroen Bezem

18

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tions become known around the world almost instantane-ously, and there is hardly any time to finalise an innovation, commercialise it and recover the investment costs.”

Staying ahead of international competitionThe National Nereda Research Programme (NNOP), a partnership between Delft University of Technology, DHV, STOWA and six Dutch district water boards, was therefore started in 2005. With support from the Water Technology Innovation Programme (InnoWATOR) and various subsidy programmes, including from the KRW (Water Framework Directive), the development of Nereda was continued by nine parties. “This support was very important for the further development of the technology,” says Van der Roest. “Without it we would not have been able to stay ahead of the international competition. Learning to understand the technology requires a lot of research; on a laboratory scale, via pilot installations to the practical level. Parts of the research such as examining flow patterns cannot be performed in a lab. These are an important factor as soon as the technology is scaled-up and therefore require hydraulic measurements in practice.”

Full scale plantAfter gaining experience in various smaller industrial test installations and two non-Dutch domestic demonstration installations, the NNOP are now ready for the ‘real thing’. The first Nereda plant for the treatment of domestic waste

At work: Domestic waste water treatment at epe facilityThe Veluwe district water board and its sewage treatment installation in Epe have a world premier with the first full scale Nereda water treatment. The plant recently started operations and will be officially opened next spring. The essence of the Nereda technology is the granule that floats in the waste water and has an oxygen gradient: The outside is aerobic and the core of the granule is anaerobic. Nitrification takes place in the outer layer before the resulting nitrite/nitrate is denitrified in the granule’s core. Phosphate is also captured organically.

Nereda: The new diamond of the Dutch water sector water has been set up in Epe in the province of Gelderland. “And after Epe the partners will also build full scale instal-lations in Dinxperlo and Vroomshoop, also in the Nether-lands. In these three installations we will be experimenting with various applications of the technology,” says Van der Roest. “And if we can make it work in Dutch conditions, we can make it work anywhere.”

According to Van der Roest, the installation in Epe is already attracting many interested visitors from the Netherlands and abroad every week. “We now require a construction which will help us find launching customers abroad with whom we can cooperate and innovate. Just as we have done before with six dutch water boards. After all, the 59,000 population equivalent (PE) in Epe is modest compared to many installa-tions in other countries, which can involve a unit per capita loading in the millions.”

Keep the wheel spinningWhile DHV will be selling the Nereda technology as market party, it will not be receiving all the revenues. “The manufac-turing industry supplies specific parts to the (international) projects, and part of the licensing income flows back to STW and Delft University of technology to keep the wheel of scien-tific research and innovations turning,” explains Van der Roest. “STOWA also receives part of these royalties.This type of agree-ment is new to the Netherlands, but I am convinced that we will see it increasingly used in this type of innovation trajectory.”

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“The WISP-3 was actually born out of frustration,” says direc-tor Marnix Laanen of Water Insight. In 2005 he and Steef Peters established the company as a spin-off of the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) of the VU University in Amsterdam. Laanen and Peters had already been working at IVM on spectral information related to water surfaces in the form of satellite data. “We used a spectrometer for the valida-tion of the satellite data, but had to work with an impractical measuring method and complex calculation models,” Laanen remembers. “We were convinced that there had to be a much easier way.”They were right and their company has been marketing the results since January 2011. The WISP-3 is a practical de-vice that measures water quality by taking a ‘picture’ of the water surface. Laanen: “What we do, in fact, is measure the substances that colour the water, such as algae, silt, dissolved organic substances and the like. By means of simple algo-rithms the device then calculates the concentration of these substances in the water. The benefits are that it doesn’t require laboratory analysis and that the device can also be used by non-experts.”

Reflection spectrum with highs and lows“There are three spectrometers in the WISP-3,” Laanen says about the functioning of the device. “The first measures the amount of light that is reflected by the water at an angle of 42 degrees, the second measures the amount of light entering

Water Insight develops practical WISP-3 water quality meterThree spectrometers in one device

Three spectrometers in one practical device that determines the colour of the surface water and, by applying algorithmic calculations, the water quality; these are the features of the WISP-3 developed by Water Insight with the financial support of the InnoWATOR subsidy. And, according to co-director Marnix Laanen, it would not yet have existed without the programme’s support. The device was marketed this year, and although Dutch water managers are waiting to see which way the wind blows, there has been considerable interest from abroad.

By Jeroen Bezem

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the water at the same angle, and the third sensor measures the total incidence of light. A reflection spectrum that consists of highs and lows is then determined by means of models, and the resulting information shows the amount of a specific substance, chlorophyll, for instance, in the water.”

The WISP-3 determines, among other things, the following parameters: The concentration of chlorophyll in the water as a measure of the algae biomass, the concentration of phyco-cyanin as a measure of the biomass of blue algae, the silt con-centration, the concentration of coloured dissolved organic material, the transparency of the water and the presence of floating algae beds (‘flabs’).

Finland and CanadaLaanen is positive about the first sales figures, with most clients being international research institutes. “For example, we are in contact with institutes in Finland and Canada,” he continues. “Those countries have a lot of surface water that never gets measured as they are very hard to reach by scientists. The WISP-3, however, can also be given to a forest ranger who does visit those locations. Information on remote places is the result.”

Laanen expects water managers will gauge how things turn out before purchasing the WISP-3, which costs the equivalent of a medium-sized car. “They are first waiting to see what

Water Insight develops practical WISP-3 water quality metertheir national research institutes do with the instrument. Once they see the benefits, they will want one for themselves. I do expect, by the way, that the devices will become less expensive in the future.”

The costsThe WISP-3 was developed with the support of a InnoWA-TOR subsidy, which was very welcome indeed, says Laanen. “I recommend that companies which develop innovative technologies keep an eye on funds and programmes for co-financing. After all, the income doesn’t start until the innova-tion has been marketed.” The subsidy was acquired with the help of Mannen van de Wit. Laanen: “I got a call from Hans Wouters from Mannen van de Wit, who offered support. My first response was: ‘How much?’, to which he replied that I need not be concerned about costs. The Water Technology Innovation Programme really is a great initiative.”

Water Insight used two InnoWATOR subsidies: One for the further development of the WISP-3 and one for a combina-tion with a 2D video camera with colour filters. Again the company was helped by Hans Wouters of Mannen van de WIT. “One thing is for sure,” Laanen concludes. “Without the support of the Innovation Programme we would not have gotten this far for a while, and nor would we have had an ap-plicable WISP-3 yet.”

At work:between in situ measurements and satellite dataValidation measurements taken for the EU FP7 research project FRESHMON by the WISP-3 are used to improve the atmospheric and radiometric correction of MERIS images in locations such as the IJsselmeer. By doing so the WISP-3 builds a bridge between in situ measurements and satellite data: Both measure exactly the same spectrums, but the WISP-3 is more accurate as it is not affected by the atmosphere.

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“It is a shame that the Water Technology Innovation Pro-gramme will soon come to an end,” says Freddy Dekkers from Mannen van de WIT, a division of the programme. “It facilitated the invention and development of concepts that would otherwise have had little chance.” One of the examples he quotes is the Intelligent Reclaim Irrigation System, or IRIS for short. This concept, which he designed, was presented at a workshop during a water and innovation event in Valencia, Spain, in 2009. The workshop explored the possibilities for Dutch-Spanish cooperation in the field of water technology and irrigation, and was organised by NL Agency (the Dutch government’s agency for innovation support), theWater Technology Innovation Programme and two parties from Spain, the Spanish Water Partnership and the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI).

nutrients from wasteThe elaboration of this concept has led to a pilot project in Murcia in which several Dutch and Spanish partners are cooperating. Three greenhouses were built on the grounds of regional water treatment company ESAMUR, in which three different types of water are tested for irrigation: Surface water from the Segura river, treated water from the wastewater treatment plant, and irrigation water from the IRIS system. A clear understanding of the potential of IRIS should be gained by September 2014, and Dekker is looking forward to this with confidence: “IRIS is a win-win solution. It solves the wastewater problem in small villages and deliv-ers nutrient-rich irrigation water for local agriculture.”

IRIS treatment converts effluent to nutritious irrigation waterNew water technology for Spanish agriculture

Irrigating tomatoes and orange trees with partially treated sewage water is the aim of the IRIS project in Murcia in southern Spain. The idea that human waste stays in the water as fertiliser takes some getting used to for many people. The Spanish farmers and horticulturalists can rest assured, however - the IRIS water is better suited for irrigation than the completely clean product from a comparable wastewater treatment plant. Furthermore, it allows savings in surface water, which is scarce (and therefore expensive) in Spain. IRIS was devised in the Netherlands and will be implemented by a Spanish-Dutch consortium.

By Jeroen Bezem

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IRIS only partly treats sewage water. Nitrates and phosphates from human waste remain in the water, which means it is ac-tually enriched with fertiliser for crops. “We use the raw sew-age coming in for treatment at the plant,” Dekker explains. “The micro-contaminants are removed by leading the water through extra-fine membranes produced in the Netherlands. The challenge was to design the filtering process so that it would not also eliminate nutrients, since we obviously want to leave them in the water. We therefore work with multiple membranes, some of which let the substances through and some don’t. After the filtration comes biodegradation and an oxidation step with ozone, UV light or hydrogen peroxide.”

Specific conditionsThe benefits of this project in the arid south of Spain are obvious, Dekker points out. “The smaller villages in Spain – some 3000 – are obliged by new regulations to treat their own wastewater. Many currently discharge this untreated into surface water. The goal of IRIS is to provide these vil-lages with wastewater treatment and link this to customised treatment of irrigation water, which allows water and miner-als to be recovered from wastewater. The project combines Spanish expertise in irrigation and Dutch know-how in water treatment and sensoring.”

“As IRIS makes it possible to decentralise the transformation of wastewater to irrigation water, it also offers an economic perspective for smaller communities,” Dekker continues. “This type of irrigation makes for more economical agriculture, as minerals from the wastewater no longer go to waste – and this

At work:Three greenhouses in SpainThe pilot project in Murcia is the first large-scale use of IRIS. Three innovative green-houses were built by Spanish company Rufepa on an undeveloped area of the grounds of regional wastewater treatment company ESAMUR, where plants are irrigated with three different types of water: Surface water, water from a treatment plant and water from the IRIS-system, in which the valuable minerals from raw wastewater are re-tained. The plant was built by Dutch firm Hellebrekers and the system is based on the lab-on-a-chip technology by another Dutch company, Capilix. This helps make IRIS compact, with the whole system fitting into one ship container. The Spanish company Ritec is responsible for the irrigation technology. The project started in October 2011 and will be completed in September 2014.

IRIS treatment converts effluent to nutritious irrigation wateris particularly relevant given the expected future shortages of minerals.”

Since the EU’s decision that smaller villages must provide for their own wastewater treatment will apply everywhere in Europe, Dekkers expects that IRIS can be commercialised to good effect elsewhere in Europe too. “Especially in eastern Europe there is still some way to go in the field of sanitation.”

Spanish-Dutch consortiumThe project started in October 2011. The consortium was established within the Innovation Programme for Water Technology (Mannen van de WIT) and consists of the Spanish partners Ritec (for irrigation), Rufepa (greenhouses), CEBAS-CSIC (a research institute) and ESAMUR (the regional water treatment plant), plus the Dutch companies Hellebrekers from Nunspeet (for water treatment and plant technology) and Capilix from Leeuwarden (sensoring).

“These parties would never have come together without the Innovation Programme,” Dekkers says. “Hellebrekers, for instance, did not even have plans to export, and it can now successfully distinguish itself from its Spanish competitors thanks to the innovative elements of IRIS. Now that the Innovation Programme is expiring in the Netherlands, we need another way to market Dutch equipment and technol-ogy abroad. While we have lots of water technology know-how in this country, we are less good at sales of plants and equipment. The Innovation Programme is like a tree we have planted on which the fruits are now ripened. It would be a shame to let them simply fall to the ground.”

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“The pilot project at our plant in Bergen op Zoom has shown that seventy percent water reuse is technically feasi-ble for our type of process,” says Jolanda Soons, responsible for sustainability policy at Lamb Weston/Meijer. “Sixty per-cent is more realistic in practice, however.” Lamb Weston/Meijer has multiple plants, each with its own wastewater treatment system. Since early 2009, one of the production sites in the Netherlands has been operating a membrane bioreactor (MBR) which further purifies the treated effluent from the biological water treatment installation. After addi-tional treatment by reverse osmosis (RO) and an ultraviolet disinfection step to ensure food safety, the original wastewa-ter is restored to drinking water quality and can be reused in the plant.

The MBR-RO-UV system is still in a pilot stage, with ten percent of the total wastewater at the plant purified to drinking water quality. “This water is now the first to be used in the steam boiler,” Soons says. “Thanks to the soft-ness of the water, we no longer need to use water soften-ers. We are currently further elaborating our sustainability ambitions and will soon decide to what extent we eventually wish to implement the water reuse system.”

Contact with water engineersLamb Weston/Meijer requested aid from the InnoWATOR subsidy scheme for the implementation of this project. “We had an idea for the modernisation of our existing water

Lamb Weston/Meijer’s chips plant in Bergen op Zoom (NL) has a special pilot water treatment installation that reprocesses part of the treated wastewater to drinking water quality for reuse at the plant. The installation represents a unique combination of existing water technologies that have been brought together specifically for the purpose. Lamb Weston/Meijer benefitted from the InnoWATOR scheme for this new construction. While the company still needs to decide whether the water reuse installation will be expanded, one thing that is not in question is the scale of its ambitions.

Chips producer Lamb Weston/Meijer aims to excel in water reuseClosing the water cycle in the food industry

By Jac van Tuijn

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treatment system, and what we needed was expertise to make it possible,” Soons explains. “The scheme put us in touch with various partners from the Dutch water sector, ultimately allowing us to put the idea in practice. The In-noWATOR project really accelerated the implementation of our idea.”

Soons reports that the specialist knowledge of the project partners was very useful to the company. “One of the part-ners was Brabant Water, our current water supplier. We had it carry out the risk analysis using its expertise in drinking water quality and the possibility to provide good backup. This is very important for us as we cannot produce chips without a steady supply of clean water.”

Ready for the futureLamb Weston/Meijer has placed water at the forefront of its innovation and sustainability efforts. “Unlike our energy initiatives, the water project has yet to deliver savings for us,” Soons explains. “But we are now ready for the future and have solved the teething problems. Water is very im-portant to us as a company. Our raw material, the potato, contains 80% water. We cut the potatoes into chips using a water jet cutter developed by Lamb Weston US. The chips advance through the process carried on a stream of water. Even peeling is done with water, in a steam peeler. It is inspiring to work on water innovations in the production process and beyond.”

At work:Fertiliser pellets from wastewaterWastewater from Lamb Weston/Meijer’s plant in Bergen op Zoom goes through anaerobic treatment and then enters a struvite reactor. Magnesium oxide is added to the water there, causing phosphates and nitrogen to crystallise into struvite. The struvite is subsequently dewatered and pressed into cakes, which are used to substitute artificial phosphate fertilisers. This technique was developed by Lamb Weston/Meijer and Colsen Milieutechnik and patented under the name Anphos. Lamb Weston/Meijer received the European environmental prize Best LIFE - Environment Projects for this in 2006.

Chips producer Lamb Weston/Meijer aims to excel in water reuseLamb Weston/Meijer is looking to establish a long-lasting leadership in the field of water and is already toying with the concept for a new project, water treatment by algae. The idea is to sell the algae as fish food to nearby companies. “Having our roots in the province of Zeeland means that we are happy to add advancement of freshwater to the histori-cal struggle against saltwater,” Soons concludes.

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“While it is good to help start-ups with funding, companies that have already proven themselves by repeatedly bring-ing new innovations to market also require support,” says Paques CEO Rob Heim. “Our company is known to be very successful and we wish to remain so. It is important that we maintain our position and preferably grow.” As an example, Heim points to the first full-scale Biopaq AFR, built at Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory in Hellendoorn. “This features our successful Biopaq anaerobic treatment system, which we have further enhanced for application to greasy wastewater by adding a special flotation unit that absorbs fats which have not been broken down by the other processes.”

According to Heim, the great advantage of the new system

is that the biomass of an integrated flotation unit present in the reactor is kept to a smaller volume for longer. The fat adheres to the biomass, allowing conversion to biogas to take place. In addition to allowing the Biopaq AFR to eliminate 90% of the pollution load, this also produces more biogas. “Our installation will provide 40% of the total energy needs of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory,” Heim explains.

Introduction is the most difficult stepFor the construction of the first full-scale Biopaq AFR at Ben & Jerry’s, Paques called on the guarantee facility of the Inno-vation Programme for Water Technology. “This is a hugely important scheme for us,” Heim says. “The introduction of a new water technology is the most difficult step, in that we

Inventing new water technology is a very different process from introducing it to the market. This has been the experience of water technology company Paques each time it has developed a new water treatment method. According to director Rob Heim, it is hard to find buyers prepared to be the first to invest in a new technology. This is why his company has greatly benefited from the InnoWATOR guarantee facility, such as during the construction of the first full-scale Biopaq Anaerobic Flotation Reactor (AFR) at a Ben & Jerry's facility in Hellendoorn. Heim calls on the Dutch government to foster a favourable innovation climate, including for smaller companies such as Paques which operate abroad and wish to remain leaders in the world market.

Paques builds on the success of Biopaq with a new AFR version

Guarantee scheme for first full-scale Biopaq AFR

By Jac van Tuijn

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At work:Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory in HellendoornThe first truly full-scale Biopaq AFR is being built at Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory in Hellendoorn. This Unilever facility is planned as a model of sustainability, of which water treatment, including energy recovery, is an important part. In 2012, Unilever will open a visitor centre equipped with the latest sustainable technologies at the plant. The centre will be the starting point for tours.

need a customer who is prepared to be the first to make a large investment. And this is hard to find nowadays. Manag-ers are primarily judged by their financial results in western countries, and risk taking just doesn’t fit into the picture – especially when it comes to non-core activities. This is why the InnoWATOR guarantee facility is so important. We can fall back on it whenever unexpected extra costs are involved in getting a system to run properly.”

Spreading responsibilitiesHeim also says that there is a downside to the guarantee scheme. “If we turn to it for support, our customers will immediately wonder to what extent the new technique is reliable on a large scale and whether it might not have a fundamental underlying weakness. In such cases, we freely admit that we cannot be entirely sure of the relevant applica-tion. We have a policy of total openness and transparency in such situations, and we followed it with Unilever when working on Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory. We came to a very good cooperation agreement for the construction of the Biopaq AFR, with each party taking on part of the responsi-bility. This maximises the chances of success.”

Good climate for innovationWhile Paques is perfectly capable of bringing innovations to the market under its own steam, the pace would be much

slower without government support such as the guarantee facility. “These forms of backing do help speed up custom-ers’ decisions on making a purchase,” Heim adds.Paques spends 10% of its revenues on developing new products, says Heim. “This is a very high percentage. We are prepared to invest so much because we wish to remain the market leader. But we operate on a global market, which means that the climate for innovation in the other countries where our competitors operate is also important to us. In places such as China, Brazil and Singapore, the relevant pro-grammes can count on government support for innovation, bringing the innovation environment to a higher level than in the Netherlands.”

Fitting into the business strategyThe InnoWATOR scheme is important for Paques as its goals are increases in scale and commercialisation. “We have used it several times because it is well suited to our business strategy,” Heim reveals. “The subsidies have allowed us to speed things up and we use them as support in already planned projects.”

The motto of Paques is ‘revitalising resources’. “It is our mission, and we intend to be the global number one in this field,” Heim explains. “This is why it is so important that the government creates a climate in which new environmen-tal solutions like our Biopaq AFR can thrive.”

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“High flow rate, low chemical use, and affordability – we reached this optimum at NieuWater’s pure water plant in Emmen thanks to a unique deployment of water technol-ogy,” Hilde Prummel, managing director of WLN, explains. Her company played an important role in the design of the treatment plant, which was officially opened in September 2010. NieuWater is a joint venture by Water Supply Compa-ny Drenthe (WMD) and the Velt en Vecht water board. The company transforms the treated water from the wastewater treatment plant in Emmen into ultra-clean water for the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), a Dutch oil and gas extraction company.The initial design of the water plant relied on a traditional solution, Prummel says. “But these require a lot of chemicals and energy, while leaving behind a problematic residual cur-rent. As the technology advisor to both the drinking water company and the water board, we looked for other solutions. This is how we found the InnoWATOR project, which al-lowed us to develop and realise two related, highly concrete innovations, in addition to the design itself.”

Preventing biofoulingPrummel underlines that the InnoWATOR project was special in several respects “The contamination of reversed osmosis membrane filters is a hot topic worldwide. It takes a lot of effort to keep the biofouling of the membrane to a minimum, especially in the post-treatment of wastewater. On behalf of NieuWater, we looked at technological answers to this and arrived at two unique solutions. Together with Betawater and Global Membrains, we first developed a

Biofouling is particularly problematic in the reprocessing of wastewater treatment plant effluent using reversed osmosis. Water engineers around the world are searching for ways to prevent this biofouling in membrane filtration. WLN, a company specialised in water quality, worked together with Water Supply Company Drenthe to develop a low-chemical design for NieuWater’s pure water plant in Emmen. Two innovative applications were tested and implemented during the construction. According to WLN’s managing director Hilde Prummel, the pure water plant has proved itself as a good alternative to the solutions that are currently deployed. It is no coincidence that her company is attracting such interest from water engineers worldwide.

WLN designs low-chemical membrane filtrationDirect implementation of pure water plant innovations

By Jac van Tuijn

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At work:Controlling biofouling at NieuWaterThe key to operating a reversed osmosis filter efficiently is preventing biofouling. This formation of organic slime clogs the fine pores in the membrane, which means pressure has to be continuously increased in order to get the same amount of wa-ter through the filter. Accordingly, the membranes “need to be frequently cleaned. Biofouling is traditionally kept in check with chemicals. However, WLN and WMD thought up a special solution for NieuWater’s pure water plant in Emmen: An activated carbon filter which uses a controlled organic process to remove undesirable substances from the water before they reach the membrane.

sensor for early biofouling detection. Next, we added an organically activated carbon filter. The bacteria growing in this filter break down any remaining substances in the water, which typically do not spend enough time in the treatment plant for all materials to decompose fully. This prevents contamination of the reversed osmosis membrane,” Prum-mel explains.

Fast forwardPrummel underlines the exceptional speed with which the new solutions were implemented. “While the new design resulted in much cheaper water treatment, the innovations also brought uncertainties. Fortunately, NieuWater saw the potential benefits and was very positive to the project. We tested the new innovations while elaborating the design, and subsequently built them right away. It was quite an experi-ence – you put something together and see just how much potential it has, and then a forward-looking company like NieuWater comes along with the courage to snap it up.”

A robust solutionPrummel is still very proud of the innovations in the pure water plant. “People from all over the world are very inter-ested in what we have built there. Reprocessing of municipal wastewater is usually done through a combination of ultra-filtration and reversed osmosis, which results in a 25% water loss and a purification process that requires lots of chemicals.

“The pure water plant has proven itself as a good alterna-tive thanks to its robustness and the presence of sensors that

WLN designs low-chemical membrane filtrationquickly signal any membrane fouling,” WLN’s managing director continues. “Ours is one of the two globally unique applications of Dutch technology in water treatment: The other, in Terneuzen, deploys a membrane bioreactor for pre-treatment. They are both great references for Dutch water technology.”

new innovation projectsWLN is always on the lookout for new innovations. “We would love to take on another innovation project with our customers,” Prummel declares. “We are, for instance, cur-rently looking at wider applications for activated carbon filters. And since our customers sometimes balk at the high costs, a subsidy scheme can be the final push it takes to convince them.

“Next time we participate in an innovation project, I will be more critical in terms of the number of partners. The In-noWATOR project involved eight participants, which meant a lot of time was consumed by meetings. I prefer to focus more on practical things via a structure with just one or two other partners. But although I sometimes grumbled about the amount of administration required, the upside to the InnoWATOR project has been that it allowed us to build up and keep a valuable network.”

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“Smart Control is a management philosophy that can be deployed in a multifunctional way,” says Harry Futselaar, busi-ness & technology manager at Pentair X-Flow. “All it requires is parameters that can be influenced sufficiently quickly. The settings of a membrane filter installation can thus be automat-ically adapted to changing circumstances, allowing consider-able savings in the consumption of energy and chemicals, and extending the production time of the installation.”

In May of this year, X-Flow, which supplies membrane technology all over the world for applications such as water treatment, changed ownership when Norit Holding sold its Clean Process Technologies (CPT) division to the American company Pentair.

“Until now, membrane systems have in general been oper-ated statically,” Futselaar continues. “They have more or less

permanent settings. But the composition of the treated water is subject to change – when dealing with surface water, for instance, there are differences between summer and winter and between day and night. A large ship sailing by can also temporarily affect water quality. Smart Control allows the installation to react to changing water quality without the operator having to intervene manually.”

BackwashingThis type of dynamic control can, for instance, make the cleaning cycle of the membranes more efficient. “In ultra-filtration, the water is pushed through a membrane under pressure, leaving a filter cake on the membrane,” Futselaar explains. “At some point, the cake layer becomes too thick, requiring the membrane to be cleaned by backwashing. This cleaning process is fully automated and takes place every half hour. But what if the water is relatively clean for a period? It

X-Flow has worked together with the University of Groningen on a smart control system for membrane installations for the past ten years. Initially a purely academic initiative, support from InnoWATOR allowed it to make the transition to a practical scale in 2006. Meanwhile, an installation with X-Flow smart control has been set up in northern Spain and a huge desalination plant currently under construction in China will also make use of this control philosophy. X-Flow long since stopped being solely a membrane business. “We now think mainly in terms of concepts: Comprehensive solutions for which we supply both core components and management philosophy.”

X-Flow develops smart control for membrane installationsSmart Control: exports to Spain and China

By Jeroen Bezem

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At work:Desalination project in Shandong, ChinaPentair X-Flow supplies the ultra-filtration (UF) technology for the Qingdao desalination project in China’s Shandong province. The reversed osmosis system is designed to provide 100,000 cubic metres of water every day for the needs of 500,000 people. It will be the largest desalination plant in China to date.

Spanish contractor Befesa is responsible for the design, construction and opera-tion of the plant, while X-Flow supplies the Seaguard UF technology, including Smart Control to optimise the coagulation process. The plant in Qingdao hosts 2280 membrane modules, placed in 20 UF skids. The plant will be up and run-ning around the end of the year.

would be a waste of time and money to rinse the membrane every half hour.”

Various tricks are used to manage the cake layer on the membranes. One example is coagulation, another process that can be made more efficient by Smart Control, accord-ing to Futselaar. “By adding coagulants such as iron chloride or aluminium chloride to the water, we cause the floating particles in the water to coalesce before they reach the mem-brane. Larger particles result in a more porous cake layer, extending production time. But coagulants are chemicals – this means that, first, they cost money, and, second, they end up in the mud and need to be disposed of as chemical waste. In other words, it is important to keep their dosage to a minimum. Coagulants are also not required if the water does not contain floating particles, temporarily or otherwise. This is another parameter that can be managed with Smart Control.”

Comprehensive conceptsOver the years, X-Flow has developed from a membrane specialist to a provider of comprehensive solutions. “We are increasingly thinking in terms of overall concepts, within which we provide both the core components and the man-agement philosophy,” Futselaar says. “We get the remaining components from the local market.”

“We have noted that water is increasingly becoming a means

X-Flow develops smart control for membrane installationsto an end, and endeavour to adapt our operations accord-ingly. This is why we are working on innovations for recover-ing energy from wastewater. We already have two projects supported by InnoWATOR in this area. In a third InnoWA-TOR project, we are working with wastewater as a resource, particularly as regards the recovery of nutrients. Phosphates, nitrates and heavy metals are, after all, also precious raw materials and fertilisers.”

A crucial trinityThanks to these developments, membrane technology has evolved from a pure separation technique into a key technology for the reuse of materials, one which fits into the concept of making processes sustainable. And with this idea as a starting point, the opportunities are endless believes Fut-selaar. “The market is, so to speak, begging for sustainable innovations, and X-Flow will be here to provide them.”

Futselaar praises the power of the trinity of knowledge centres, technology companies and launching customers. “It is vital that new technology is brought to market as early as possible, and we can do that with a launching customer. This creates the possibility to develop the technology in practice. When marketing a new technology abroad you soon hear the question: ‘Have you also implemented this in your own country?’ A launching customer does take on risk, however, which is why support from programmes like the Innovation Programme for Water Technology is so important.”

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