PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Project LIFE SWITCH2O is focused on addressing key problems associated with traditional centralised water in the Netherlands and Europe as a whole, ranging from water scarcity, to unnecessary waste of clean drinking water, environmental pollution caused by wastewater discharge, shortages in primary resources (such as phosphates that can be used as fertilisers) and unsustainable treatment of urban wastewater. Surface and ground water resources for drinking water production are increasingly becoming scarcer as the climate in Europe is becoming hotter with more prolonged periods of drought. Water scarcity is exacerbated in the Netherlands and Europe where infrastructure is not yet used to separate relatively clean greywater (from baths, sinks, washing machines, and other kitchen appliances) from waste streams. The discharge of organic micropollutants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), microplastics and medicine residues, further challenge surface water supplies, that in turn pollutes ground water supplies as well as drinking water production. In addition, valuable nutrients that are found in sewage sludge, such as phosphate, are not effectively used, although these same primary nutrients are becoming scarcer all over the world; phosphate is an essential ingredient in agricultural fertiliser that is expected to run out as an element within 100-200 years. The potential use of waste from water steams to generate energy (through biomass) is furthermore not yet sufficiently realised that can reduce CO2 emissions leading to GHG reductions in EU ETS sectors.
OBJECTIVES
The main objective of LIFE SWITCH2O is to demonstrate an innovative, decentralised, and fully circular water treatment plant at the neighbourhood level that could be replicated in neighbourhoods across the Netherlands and Europe. Specific project objectives are the demonstration and validation of:
- Strengthening drinking water resilience through a reduction of clean drinking water usage
- Production of high-quality drinking water from wastewater using Nano Filtration (NF) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) treatment
- Maximum nutrient recovery without micro-pollutants that can be used as high-quality fertiliser (in turn reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphate entering the environment through water supply and waste management)
- Integrated and optimised energy recovery system ensuring that energy is produced rather than consumed (in which energy supply is in the form of biogas)
- Direct local reuse and recovery of water and nutrients (in a vertical urban farm and communal laundrette)
- Stakeholder involvement in project implementation and governance model
- Replication plan to demonstrate LIFE SWITCH2O high replication potential, including through the development of a blueprint for governance structure and upscaling.
RESULTS
The project will showcase one of the most circular decentralised wastewater systems at the project’s location in Noorderhoek in the Frisian city of Sneek. This will include by demonstrating a unique set of purification techniques (e.g. thermophilic digestion, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, electro dialysis reversal, and UV treatment) that is foreseen to result in pathogen-free drinking water that can be safely reused in a variety of profitable applications. More specifically, project results are:
- Completion of a circular decentralised water treatment system to become fully circular in its water usage at the household level.
- Showcasing of local reuse options at a small-scale laundrette, fountain and vertical farming unit
- Water saving through 25% reduction in drinking water usage
- Production of reusable biogas in which 190 kWh energy will be produced in the form of biogas
- Validation of PFAS, microplastics, and pathogens removal
- Retrieval of three times more reusable nutrients when compared to conventional waste treatment plants
- Sewage waste recovery and reuse resulting in a reduction of sludge by 44.7%
- Emission reductions estimated at 14 tonnes of Co2 emissions per year
- Long-term monitoring data on decentralised water treatment system and pollution prevention (e.g. of phosphates and nitrates from entering the environment)
- New decentralised governance structure (that includes supporting citizen engagement and environmentally responsible behavioural change)
The project will furthermore result in the development of two feasibility studies for replication towards facilitating the concept's large-scale roll-out, namely in the newly built Fifth Village in the Netherlands, and in Helsingborg, Sweden. In doing so, the project foresees to lay the foundations for a breakthrough in realising a circular economy, in line with the 2050 climate objectives in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe.