|
1.
|
Which parties are involved in the ultrapure water plant?
The ultrapure water plant was built by NieuWater B.V. NieuWater is a joint venture by the Water Supply Company Drenthe (WMD) and the Velt & Vecht Water Board.
|
|
2.
|
What does the ultrapure water plant do?
Sewage from the municipality of Emmen is treated by the sewage treatment plant in Emmen. The ultrapure water plant then upgrades the treated sewage (the effluent produced by the sewage treatment plant) to ultrapure water. Ultrapure water is very pure water. Unlike drinking water, which contains minerals and calcium, it has almost nothing in it. When drinking water is heated limescale (calcium carbonate) starts to build up. This does not happen when ultrapure water is heated. Limescale deposits would lead to an unacceptable increase in maintenance requirements (removal of limescale) in the heating units used to produce steam.
|
|
3.
|
What part is the energy company NAM playing in the project?
NAM is the only customer purchasing the ultrapure water produced by the ultrapure water plant. NAM is redeveloping the Schoonebeek oil field with the aid of new technologies such as horizontal drilling in combination with low-pressure steam injection. Heating ultrapure water until it turns into steam and injecting it into the oil field makes the oil more fluid. The oil can then be pumped out of the ground with modern high-efficiency pumps. Ultrapure water is needed to produce the steam to prevent damage to pumps and turbines (caused by the build-up of limescale). In 1996 NAM stopped extracting oil from the Schoonebeek oil field because the oil extraction process was no longer commercially viable. The remaining oil was too thick and viscous to be pumped up with the traditional beam oil pumping units. (At that point the oil that was being pumped up consisted of 95% salt water and 5% oil.) From 1947 to 1996 the NAM produced 250 million barrels of oil from the Schoonebeek oil field. Between now and 2036 the energy company expects to extract another 120 million barrels of oil from the Schoonebeek oil field.
|
|
4.
|
How much water does the ultrapure water plant produce?
To meet the requirements the NieuWater ultrapure water plant in Emmen produces up to 8,200 m3 of ultrapure water per day. And production can be increased to 10,000 m3 per day if necessary. The contract with NAM has a term of 25 years.
|
|
5.
|
What kind of investment has gone into the ultrapure water plant?
More than 40 million euros. WMD and the Velt & Vecht Water Board are acting as guarantors.
|
|
6.
|
Are there any risks for WMD and Velt and Vecht water board?
There is contractual certainty regarding the purchase of the supply of ultrapure water for an initial period of 25 years, which means that NieuWater has certainty of income during this period. This makes it a sound investment. WMD and the Velt & Vecht Water Board regard it as an important principle that investments made by NieuWater should not make a loss.
|
|
7.
|
Is it possible that NieuWater could also make a profit?
NieuWater is a Dutch private limited company and, as such, it can and may make a profit. There is one strict limiting condition, which is that it must not operate at a loss. Therefore, an offer was made on the basis that there would be some profit. The executive boards of WMD and the Velt & Vecht Water Board will decide what to do with the money.
|
|
8.
|
How much water will the ultrapure water plant produce?
To meet the requirements the NieuWater ultrapure water plant in Emmen produces up to 8,200 m3 of ultrapure water per day. And production can be increased to 10,000 m3 per day if necessary. The contract with NAM has a term of 25 years.
|
|
9.
|
Is the ultrapure water plant environmentally-friendly?
The ultrapure water plant uses the effluent produced by the sewage treatment plant in Emmen as influent. In other words, a waste substance (treated sewage) is used as a resource. The substances removed from the water at the ultrapure water plant are returned to the sewage treatment plant and treated again. This more thorough treatment of the sewage helps to improve surface water quality, because it means that every year at least 30 tonnes of sewage sludge is not discharged into surface water. And less phosphate is also discharged into surface water. The traditional technologies used to condition process water use large quantities of chemicals. Adherence to the principles of environmental sustainability meant that the process was designed in such a way as to require minimal use of chemicals.
|
|
10.
|
Will the ultrapure water plant have to stop production if an incident at the sewage treatment plant means that the supply of influent for the process comes to a halt?
One of the difficulties of using treated sewage effluent as influent is that the composition of the influent is not constant. If the quality of the effluent is inadequate during dry periods or due to unforeseen discharges, the plant can – temporarily – switch to water from the Hoogeveense Vaart waterway. And if it is absolutely essential, WMD always has water of drinking water quality that can be conditioned for the production of steam. For the end product must always meet the requirements of ultrapure (boiler feed quality) water.
|
|
11.
|
What is the purpose of NieuWater?
NieuWater is the outcome of the desire on the part of WMD and the Velt & Vecht Water Board to engage in innovative collaboration in the water chain. Expectations are that the collaboration between WMD and the Velt & Vecht Water Board in NieuWater B.V. will not be confined to the NAM project. Collaboration is an active process. Collaboration facilitates innovative thinking. This often leads to innovative solutions that add value for all parties. Broader collaboration within the water chain is good for the environment and also for those living in areas where water is supplied by WMD and the Velt & Vecht Water Board. Collaboration can help to reduce the cost of drinking water, wastewater treatment and water management (corporate social responsibility).
|
|
12.
|
Does NieuWater have any other definite plans?
The experience gained at the innovative new ultrapure water plant can be used to apply similar technologies in other parts of the world. The recycling of wastewater will become increasingly important as groundwater and surface water become scarcer. The concept of the ultrapure water plant could also be applied to other treatment processes.
|
|
13.
|
Is the ultrapure water plant regarded as a special project?
The combination of advanced technologies, minimal use of chemicals, the extent to which the treated sewage is upgraded and the purpose for which the resulting product is used all make this project especially challenging. Hence the project will be regarded as a groundbreaking example of wastewater recycling both in the Netherlands and internationally.
• Engineers employed by WMD and process technologists employed by Water Laboratory North (Waterlaboratorium Noord (WLN)) and the Velt & Vecht Water Board designed the new process for the ultrapure water plant. In doing so they made ingenious use of several new and existing technologies. The combined effect of the system components improves quality. The principle is that the ultrapure water plant has to supply water that meets the quality requirements for boiler feed water.
• An advanced treatment train removes all suspended particles, nutrients and salts from the effluent through ultrafiltration, double biological activated carbon filtration, double reverse osmosis and finally electrodeionisation. The resulting product, practically 100% pure H2O, is pumped via two pipes to the NAM energy plant in Schoonebeek.
• The production of ultrapure water is not unique. However, the scale on which it is being produced is unique: the plant produces up to 8,200 m3 of ultrapure water per day. And production can be increased to 10,000 m3 per day if necessary.
• Several other organisations with a social responsibility have started this kind of joint venture. NieuWater is remarkable in that an initiative was the result, an initiative that involves a considerable investment and that is actually being implemented.
• Another special feature is the fact that the treated sewage water is upgraded to such an extent that only ultrapure water remains.
|
|
14.
|
Directors and managers at WMD and the Velt & Vecht Water Board occupy similar positions at NieuWater. How are the responsibilities divided?
There are two people on NieuWater’s Board of Directors: a representative of WMD and a representative of the Velt & Vecht Water Board. NieuWater’s shareholders (WMD and the Velt & Vecht Water Board) will represent the interests of WMD and the Velt & Vecht Water Board in relation to NieuWater. There is also a Supervisory Board whose members include the most senior directors of WMD and the Velt & Vecht Water Board.
|
|
15.
|
Do staff employed by WMD and the Velt & Vecht Water Board provide services for NieuWater? How are these costs allocated?
Several people employed by WMD and the Velt & Vecht Water Board provide services for NieuWater. NieuWater is charged for their time.
|