December 2012 March 2013

Transcription

1 November

2 December 2012 March

3 November

4 October

5 November

6 February

7 December

8 February March

9 December

10 February

11 December

12 December

13 August

14 December

15 March

16 December

17 January

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20 Resolution of Global Environmental Problems Seawater reverse osmosis membrane at Water Plaza Kitakyushu With finite freshwater resources brine that is discharged into the A demonstration plant was estab- available, competition is intensifying ocean after RO membrane filtration, lished near a seaside sewage treat- in the water treatment business which eventually damages ecosys- ment plant in Kitakyushu City, Fukuo- worldwide. Although Japan has led tems in the surrounding waters. To ka Prefecture. One of the main the global seawater desalination solve these problems, NEDO challenges faced during the project market with its membrane technolo- promoted the development of an was membrane fouling. In the first gies, it has lagged behind other coun- integrated seawater desalination and year, quick fouling hampered stable tries in the water treatment systems sewage reuse system. Combining operation of the plant, forcing the market. In this project, an environ- seawater desalination with sewage project participants to determine mentally friendly, energy-saving membrane treatment, this system whether it was caused by inorganic water treatment system was devel- utilizes concentrated water from a matter derived from seawater or oped and put into practical applica- sewage RO system in a seawater RO organic matter derived from sewage. tion based on the novel idea of system, which in turn halves the They found that bacteria derived Novel Ideas: Producing a Game-Changer Amid Intensifying Competition for Water Resources integrating seawater desalination with sewage treatment. A demonstration project in South Africa has already started. Striving to reduce costs and salinity control of RO brine pressure of water that is fed to the seawater RO membrane and therefore reduces power costs. Furthermore, the dilution of seawater that is pumped through the RO membrane reduces the salinity of brine that is discharged into the ocean to the same level as seawater. Aiming to from the seawater thrived on nutrients in treated sewage water, and solved the problem by using a disinfectant. As a result, a continuous supply of reclaimed water, which was stable in quality and quantity, was supplied to Kyushu Electric Power Company s Shin Kokura plant for two Global Water Recycling and Reuse Solution Technology Research Association (GWSTA) In the Middle East, Africa, and other arid regions, seawater desalination utilize this system to jump-start Japan s lagging water treatment and a half years beginning from April This achievement drew the Water Saving and Environmentally-Friendly Water Recycling Project systems are nothing new, but they face two major problems. The first business, Japanese companies established the Global Water Recycling attention of overseas parties involved in water treatment, leading to the problem is high operating costs, and Reuse Solution Technology launch of an international demon- because reverse osmosis (RO) mem- Research Association (GWSTA) and stration project. The value-added brane filtration, which is used to launched a system demonstration Japanese water treatment system separate permeate water into fresh- project. that developed from novel ideas water and brine to be discharged into ideas that only latecomers to the the ocean, involves high power costs to pump seawater through the RO membrane at high pressure. The second problem is the high salinity of Addressing membrane fouling and entering the global market market can come up with is expected to be introduced and expand into markets outside Japan. (Interview: September 2017) Reverse osmosis membrane for sewage treatment Seawater intake on Kanmon Straits Sewage before treatment (left), water after membrane bioreactor treatment (right), and final product water in the integrated membrane system (middle) MBR Sewage RO Water treatment system for cost reduction and salinity control of RO brine Ongoing utilization of seawater and sewage: the underlying concept of the system Achieving international recognition of demonstration project results Sewage 1500 m 3 /d Seawater 400 m 3 /d UF Seawater dilution Power reduction Reduction in quantity of pre-treatment water Low cost, energy savings Low-pressure pump Sewage RO-concentrated water 400 m 3 /d Chloramine Medium pressure pump Seawater RO Reclaimed water 1400 m 3 /d Kyushu Electric Power Company boiler water Reduction in load on the ecosystem Concentrated water Reduction of salt concentration to seawater level Overall process of the integrated seawater desalination and sewage reuse system (data courtesy of GWSTA) 10 NEDO PROJECT SUCCESS STORIES 2018 SUCCESS STORIES 11