Desalination in the Netherlands and Beyond

Emily Tenenbaum January 27 th 2011

Outline

 Intro to Voltea & Capacitive Deionization  Overview of Freshwater Scarcity in Europe  Freshwater Scarcity in the Netherlands • Desalination for agriculture • Desalination for municipal supply • Desalination for industry

Voltea & CapDI

   Founded 2006, Netherlands-based Spin-off from Unilever Main activity: Develop and Commercialize Capacitive Deionization technology (CapDI)   40 employees, growing rapidly CapDI basics • Low feedwater pressure • Uses ion-exchange membranes • Treats tap to brackish water • Minimal pretreatment • No or little chemical use • Low energy use • Competitive with RO, EDR, ion exchange • Current commercial applications: cooling tower make-up water, residential point-of-entry

Water Availability in Europe

Desalination Capacity by Country World Resources Institute Water Stress Atlas, 2000

Water Availability in Europe

the Netherlands France

Significant freshwater scarcity in Northern Europe

Belgium

Brackish Water in Netherlands

Depth of Brackish Water Interface meters below Normal Amsterdam Waterlevel (NAP) to reach [Cl ] = 1000 mg/L Growing Problems: •Coastal saltwater intrusion caused by depletion of fresh groundwater •Inland brackish groundwater

Netherlands area = New Jersey + New Hampshire

Desalination Needs in the Netherlands 1.

2.

3.

Agricultural

– saltwater intrusion in greenhouse areas

Municipal

– increasingly brackish surface and groundwater

Industrial

– Strong financial incentive to reduce industrial water use. Many solutions require desalination Greenhouses near Rotterdam Tulip field near Voltea HQ

Desalination for Agriculture in Westland

Depth of Brackish Water Interface meters below Normal Amsterdam Waterlevel (NAP) to reach [Cl ] = 1000 mg/L Westland Region, a.k.a. “Glass City”

Desalination for Agriculture in Westland

   42% Dutch greenhouse sector ~1% National GDP Brackish surface and groundwater    Low-efficiency RO systems treat groundwater for greenhouses Deep injection of brine Upcoming government ban on brine injection Westland Greenhouse Region

Desalination for Agriculture in Westland

Westland Greenhouse Region

Problem:

brackish water challenge for greenhouses

Solution:

reuse WWTP effluent for greenhouse irrigation Harnaschpolder WWTP

Parameter WWTP Effluent

[Cl ] 135 mg/L

Greenhouse max level

36 mg/L [Na + ] 100 mg/L 23 mg/L

~75% salt reduction needed

Pilot Testing for Wastewater Resuse

Long-term pilot testing underway of 3 desalination options:    UF/RO (Evides) Innovative RO train (Veolia) CapDI (Voltea) Pilot hall at Harnaschpolder WWTP Harnaschpolder WWTP Voltea engineer testing benchtop CapDI units at WWTP

Desal for Municipal Water

      Saline water from marine deposit layers and North Sea is seeping into drinking water sources National drinking water chloride limit is 150 mg/L Drinking water providers forsee difficulty in meeting the chloride limit Some drinking water wells already shut down Drinking water providers exploring brackish water desal options All projects still in pilot phase Source: Oasen Drinkwater

Desal for Municipal Water Voltea Pilot in Rotterdam

Voltea Capacitive Deionization System • April - Nov 2011 • Test CapDI on groundwater • Feed conductivity = 1.5 mS/cm • 6 L/min (0.36 m 3 /hr) • Oasen drinking water station • Results promising! • 80% salt removal • 70% water recovery • 0.4 kWh/m 3 pure • Stable operation • Oasen interested in large-scale CapDI system as RO alternative

Desal for Municipal Water PURO Pilot

Schematic of PURO pilot in Ridderkerk • Kickoff 2011 • Place RO system 100 m below ground • Reduced pumping energy • Anerobic process, no iron removal pretreatment needed • Major maintenance challenges with underground operation

Desalination for Industrial Water

€ 3,00 € 2,50 € 2,00 € 1,50 € 1,00 € 0,50 € -

Regional Water Costs

TAPWATER WASTEWATER DISCHARGE   Dutch tapwater is expensive ( €1.75 /m 3 ) Cost incentive for factories to find tapwater alternatives, or reduce tapwater use

Desalination for Industrial Water Voltea CapDI in Cooling Towers

Rabobank HQ in Utrecht       Use CapDI to desalinate feedwater to cooling towers Rabobank HQ in Utrecht Increase cycles of recirculation in cooling tower from 3 to 14 17% reduction tapwater use 68% reduction wastewater discharge 75% reduction chemical usage (antiscalents, corrosion inhibitors) Capacitive Deionization System at Rabobank HQ. ~2 m 3 /hr capacity

Take Home Message

Typical view from a window in the Netherlands  Brackish ground and surface water is a growing problem in the Netherlands  Problem affects agriculture, drinking water supply, and industry  Desal will play a increasing role in the Dutch water industry t

Desalination for Industrial Water Dow Chemical Plant

Section of water plant at Dow Chemical factory in Terneuzen       Evides chosen by Dow to design, build, finance, operate (DBFO) industrial water plant Location with limited freshwater Plant produces process water, boiler feed, cooling tower feed, ~3800 m 3 /hr Demi water initially from seawater RO – major fouling problems (2000-2007 ) 2008 switched to MF/RO fed with municipal wastewater Plan upgrade to membrane bioreactor/RO fed with municipal wastewater

NaCl Drinking water limitations

 Most drinking water is groundwater  Dutch National limits on chloride are <150 ppm, Na <120 ppm  US secondary DW standard is 250 ppm  EU chloride <250 ppm, Na <200 ppm, EC <2500 microS/cm

WRI water risk index

The 3 dimensions (23 total indicators) of water-related economic risk were determined by WRI in collaboration with industry experts, financial analysts, and water specialists, and include: Access and growth constraints: provides a measure of water risks driven by the physical availability and accessibility of water; Cost risks: capture the cost risks faced by water users due to poor water quality, regulatory uncertainty, or high prices of water and its treatment; and Disruption potential: provides a measure of the tensions and conflicts around water driven by social and regulatory concerns.

CapDI – How it Works

Desal for Municipal Water Vitens Pilot in Friesland

• Vitens-largest drinking water supplier in Netherlands • Anerobic brackish water RO pilot in Friesland (feed = 2.6 mS/cm) • Deep well injection of anerobic brine • No antiscalents due to reinjection restrictions • 70% recovery • Started in 2009 • 50 m 3 /hr RO equipment in Vitens pilot trailer in Noardburgum, Friesland