Feature
How FM Professionals can reduce
Choosing the right water treatment system has become more important than ever as organisations try to reduce their carbon footprint,
reuse water more efficiently and comply with increasingly stringent environmental discharge legislation. Here, Mikael Khan, Director of Technology at wastewater treatment business Arvia Technology,
discusses the challenges for facilities management professionals tasked with specifying a wastewater treatment system...
Global Issue
It is imperative that we have sufficient useable water to sustain life on earth, but an environmental think tank has predicted that global demand for water will outstrip useable supply by 60 percent in just 12 years’ time. Improving the environmental sustainability and economic viability of our water resources is vital to avoid this predicted gap. It has never been more important to conserve our finite water supplies. In tandem with this, public consciousness about the dangers of polluted water is at an all-time high, with programmes including Blue Planet II putting the issue firmly on the agenda. While plastic pollution has dominated the headlines, the discharge of water polluted with chemical compounds is a growing and worrying issue. At a governmental level, the issue is being
addressed by initiatives including the EU Water Framework Directive which guidelines the water discharge of utilities companies and manufacturers who use water in industrial processes. With tighter regulations, it is essential that the whole industry ensures water is treated in the most effective way possible – removing traces of harmful contaminants that are not removed by traditional water treatment processes. Although removing these hard to treat substances is a challenge for facilities management professionals in many industries, from pharmaceutical, to chemical, to food and drink, it presents an opportunity for businesses to enhance their corporate social responsibility and sustainability strategy.
A Legal Obligation
In the UK, all businesses are under a legal obligation to make sure their water is adequately treated. Failure to do this can lead to huge fines and, of course, reputational damage. There are countless examples of organisations that have flouted the law when it comes to the wastewater they
12 fmuk
are discharging. In September, Foyle Food Group was fined £40,000 at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to charges of breaching their trade effluent consent. Severn Trent recorded almost four times the allowed level of phosphorus and 12 times the limit for suspended solids. For many UK businesses, it is a challenge to
treat difficult compounds to water compliant levels, without incurring escalating costs or creating secondary wastes, which must then be incinerated, at a high cost to the environment. The good news is, technology in this area has made major strides and there are now cost-effective treatment options which do not negatively impact upon the environment. This has led to many businesses turning to processes that combine adsorption and electrochemical oxidation which negates the need for chemical dosing. These processes selectively treat even trace levels of contaminants, offer lower operating costs and ensure regulatory compliance.
A Closed Loop System As well as looking to more environmentally Mikael Khan.
friendly wastewater treatment processes, another way to reduce environmental impact, is by reusing water as far as possible, in process, rather than sourcing new mains water. The fashion industry for example, is a massive consumer and polluter of water. To make just one cotton t-shirt takes 2,700 litres of water. The good news is that new technology can enable previously unusable polluted water to be reused – a major development, allowing a closed loop system to preserve as much water as possible. This ability to treat industrial process
water so that it can be safely reused within the business has multiple benefits – utility costs are reduced, water resources are preserved and crucially, by taking this approach, organisations are addressing their corporate social responsibility.
Demand for green standards
Having the available technology to free our water supplies from new and dangerous contaminants discharged by constantly evolving industrial and scientific progress is critical in ensuring there is enough usable water to sustain life on earth. Just as important, is optimising the water that is available by reusing in-process. As a busy facilities management
professional charged with solving wastewater treatment challenges, keeping abreast of the ever-changing legislation that must be adhered to can be time consuming and complex. One thing is for certain – with the demand for higher green standards from the government and the public, legislation is only set to become more stringent. The challenge faced by FM professionals is adopting more sustainable working practices without driving up cost. Thankfully, new technologies are allowing for effective treatment of contamination and enabling more sustainable treatment processes for compliant discharge or safe reuse.
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