Given the challenging ecological situation and increasing concerns about global warming, the optimisation of water and energy consumption has become increasingly important. Wastewater treatment plants offer opportunities to reduce or recover these resources. However, in most cases, an improvement in one area entails higher costs in another. For example, enhancing the quality of treated wastewater often requires higher energy use — for instance, to increase oxygen concentration in reactors — or greater capital expenditure, such as for the installation of dosing systems for external organic carbon sources. The SNIT project aims to both improve the quality of treated wastewater and increase the production of fermentation gas, while keeping investment costs moderate. The key to achieving this is the use of nitrous acid (HNO₂) to induce partial nitrification in the main line, as well as to disintegrate sludge in order to increase the load of organic compounds that serve as substrates for fermentation. By removing nitrogen through a shortened biological pathway, oxygen and organic compound consumption within the biological treatment stage will be significantly reduced, while the shortened denitrification process will enable more effective nitrogen removal.

The potential technological and financial impact of implementing the technology was simulated on a calibrated model of the Wrocław Wastewater Treatment Plant. According to simulations, the implementation of the solution would reduce the amount of oxygen required by a third, which translates into a PLN 1 million annual saving on electricity purchases. The decrease in oxygen would be associated with a decrease in oxygen consumption for nitrification, less oxygen consumption for the oxidation of organic compounds and improved oxygen transfer due to a decrease in diffuser loading. The reduced amount of organic compounds consumed in the denitrification process would allow pre-sedimentation to be intensified and fermentation gas production to be increased by several percent. Limiting nitrification to the first phase would increase the capacity of the treatment plant by about 20% without the need to expand it. In addition, due to the shortened nitrification/denitrification, the concentration of total nitrogen in the treated effluent would decrease by 3-5 g N/m3.

Project value: PLN 7,526,700.00

Project co-financing from Norwegian funds: PLN  6,553,600.75

One of the operational problems of wastewater treatment plants is the scum layer (build-up) that appears on the surface of the biological reactors. It is caused by filamentous bacteria found in activated sludge. The problem of floating sludge layer is present in most activated sludge biological treatment plants. Also, improving the efficiency of the treatment or energy balance is an important step for the development of these companies. Achieving these goals is possible using a low-cost, safe to use and easy to obtain agent such as nitric acid.

Within the framework of this project, it was also important to gain practical experience during the operation of the laboratory and pilot plant, to prepare guidelines for the design of the technology at other facilities where the problem of floating biological scum also occurs.

Project value: PLN 2,883,750.00

EU funding for the project: PLN 2,282,500.00

The circular economy — also referred to as a closed-loop economy — is an economic model that minimises resource consumption by “closing the loop” of product life cycles. In the case of MPWiK, the “product” is the water supplied to residents through the municipal network. Once used, this water enters the sewage system and flows to the wastewater treatment plant, where it undergoes a multi-stage treatment process before being discharged into the Oder River. Although this process returns a stream of high-quality water to the environment, it also results in the loss of valuable resources contained within other substances present in the wastewater.

As part of the 2019-2022 project 'Towards a circular economy – technologies for the recovery of water and raw materials from treated wastewater’, the possibility of partially 'closing the life cycle’ of water has been investigated. Appropriate treatment of the treated wastewater stream allows it to be used locally for cooling in the sludge drying process. The treated effluent stream contains a number of substances (i.e. magnesium, organic suspended solids) that prevent it from being used in cooling systems without problems. Using membrane separation, (e.g. nano-filtration or reverse osmosis), contaminants can be removed and used in other processes.

The benefits of the potential implementation of integrated technology for the management of water and raw materials from treated wastewater are multidimensional, ranging from economic to environmental to operational. The environmental costs associated with the discharge of treated wastewater and the capture of raw water are reduced. Our recipient of treated wastewater – the Oder – would thus be less burdened. The use of water with a sufficient degree of purity in the cooling system greatly improves its operation, and substances removed from this water do not become ordinary waste. Their importance is increasing and the potential is being maximised for, among other things, intensified wastewater treatment and the production of natural mineral fertilisers.

 

Project value: PLN 2,880,375.00

Project funding: PLN 2,342,775.00

Universities, administrative units, NGOs and environmental companies from 5 Central European countries (Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland) participated in the project.

Project Partners:

– University of Padua (Italy)

– Veneto Productivity Center Foundation (Italy)

– Vicenza City Council (Italy)

– University of Insbruck (Austria)

– alpS Ltd. (Austria)

– Nuremberg Chamber of Commerce (Germany)

– University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław (Poland)

– MPWiK S.A. in Wrocław (Poland)

– ENEREA Észak-Alföld (Hungary)

The subject of the project was the application of a tool to monitor, evaluate and improve the management of water resources in an urban area. This tool was the  Water Footprint  – indicators of water consumption directly and indirectly by the consumer or producer. It is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce goods and services consumed by individuals or communities or produced by a company. To date, the Water Footprint has found its way to global and regional scales. The aim of the project was to verify its applicability for urban areas.

As part of the project, in three cities: Innsbruck, Vicenza, Wrocław, Municipal Coordination Points were set up to assess the effectiveness of the application of the Water Footprint, to compare the results obtained and to develop a common strategy for Central Europe, with a particular focus on water management in urban areas.

The project was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Central Europe Programme. The ERDF is one of the European Union’s Structural Funds, which aims to reduce disparities in the level of development of the regions belonging to the European Union. The ERDF provides, among others, support for production and infrastructure investments as well as support for small and medium-sized enterprises. The activities of the European Regional Development Fund focus on the following areas:

– local development and employment initiatives, as well as the activities of medium-sized and small businesses

– viable productive investments to create or maintain sustainable employment,

– infrastructure,

– tourism development and cultural investment,

– protecting and improving the environment,

– the development of the information society.

More information about the ERDF: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/pl/sheet/95/el-fondo-europeo-de-desarrollo-regional-feder-

 

The Central Europe Programme supports cooperation between partners from eight EU countries (Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Italy) and Ukraine. The main objective of the programme is to strengthen territorial cohesion, promote internal integration and improve the competitiveness of the Central European area.

The programme has a project funding budget of €231 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

For more information on the Central Europe Programme: https://www.europasrodkowa.gov.pl/

The project 'Applying the Water Footprint Approach to Monitor, Evaluate and Improve Urban Water Management (URBAN_WFTP)’ focused on private and commercial water use and aimed to:

• Develop a common Central European approach to assessing water use and water conservation in urban areas.
• Applying this approach to three different urban areas in three Central European countries to test its effectiveness in these contexts.
• Promote the dissemination of the Water Footprint approach at Central European level through the activation of technologies, procedures, practices and transfer processes.
• Evaluate the impact of new green technologies and ecological behavior on the Water Consumption Footprint in urban areas to identify the most effective and strategic solutions for decision-makers.
• Support for decision-makers (local authorities) in the development of urbanized areas and the development of new standards for water installations in buildings.

Total project value: EUR 1,626,291.00

MPWiK share: EUR 167,136.00 

including co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund EUR 142,066.00

As part of this project, a WWTP Research Station was built, that uses the leachate stream from the sewage sludge sewatering. The aim of the study was to provide a comprehensive solution to the nitrogen problem at the treatment plant, i.e. to develop technological solutions to ensure an economical, stable and sufficiently low level of total nitrogen in the treated wastewater.

The constructed research station includes Sequential Biological Reactors (SBR), in which biological processes are carried out, systems for physicochemical separation and a laboratory for performing analyses during these tests. The Station’s equipment allows three important tasks to be carried out for the treatment plant:

– to investigate the possibility of cultivation nitrifying bacteria involved in nitrogen removal,

– exploring the feasibility of anammox process,

– carrying out membrane separation and ion exchange processes.

Experimental results from the WWTP Research Station were used to carry out simulation studies, in a mathematical model created for this purpose. This provided an answer to the question of which of the proposed/researched solutions is the most technologically and economically advantageous.

 

Project value: PLN 3,582,900.00

Project funding: PLN 1,900,060

The project was co-financed by the National Centre for Research and Development as part of the third competition of the Applied Research Programme (http://www.ncbir.pl/programy-krajowe/program-badan-stosowanych/).

As a result of the implementation, a Water Treatment Research Station was built at the 'Mokry Dwór’ Water Treatment Plant, with which the potential of modern water treatment techniques, including micro, ultra and nano-filtration, is being investigated.

Results of the project have been used to optimise treatment processes at the water production plants, thereby contributing to innovation within the Polish economy.

 

Project value: PLN 5,865,250.00

Project funding: PLN 3,792,649.00

The aim of the project was to develop a new technology for water purification and recovery, using the natural process of surface evaporation and condensation of water from the air. The technology is designed to allow water to be recovered with distillation mechanism with minimal energy input (around approximately half that of the best solutions available on the market).

 

During the project a prototype WOW unit was created and a pilot plant for high-pollution water treatment with a nominal water capacity of 1 m3/h and an air capacity of 5,000 m3/h to treat water from the Oder River. The installation was placed in a container on the premises of the Port Północ Sewage Pumping Station at Kleczkowska Street in Wrocław. Tests of the WOW technology included checking energy efficiency, water recovery efficiency and water treatment efficiency.

The project is a response to high market demand for new water treatment technologies due to the reduction in water resources as a result of the intensifying hydrological drought and the need to manage water from hitherto untapped sources, often with high levels of contamination (e.g. heavy metals, organic and mineral compounds). Traditional treatment techniques are then insufficient to provide the required water quality, while alternative technologies (e.g. membrane processes) are associated with high investment and operating costs. For this reason, it is necessary to develop a new, low-energy solution to handle contaminated raw material.

Project value: PLN 10,212,688.75

Project funding: PLN 4,046,501.53

The device will be fully automated – respirometric data will be analysed by an automatic algorithm developed from a dataset of manually collected measurements. Furthermore, once the toxicity of the base stream has been determined, the device – in its sewage network configuration – will perform measurements at a dilution corresponding to the concentration with which the base stream enters the wastewater treatment plant. The device itself will be developed using 3D printing technology, and all surfaces in contact with water or wastewater will be treated to achieve superhydrophobic properties. This modification is expected to minimise biofilm formation and facilitate the maintenance of the device’s tubing and measurement chambers.

There is currently no plant on the market that is based on the plant’s native biomass, is automatic and can be installed far from the treatment plant. The project will be implemented by a consortium of 3 entities: MPWiK in Wrocław, Wrocław University of Science and Technology and Highdense.

Project value: PLN 16,238,610.98

Project funding: PLN 12,523,207.59