Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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In the know A research consortium which includes Scottish Water and environmental consultants Aqua Enviro has been awarded €7M in EU Horizon 2020 funding to develop novel modular sustainable rural wastewater treatment systems. The INNOQUA project aims to provide an innovative, modular and sustainable wastewater treatment technology with near zero CO2 life-cycle emissions. The technology includes novel biological treatment and disinfection modules and is designed to provide safe and affordable sanitation with the flexibility for global application. These technologies resemble natural purification processes and are based on the purification capacity of earthworms (lumbricids), zooplankton and microalgae, and alternatively sunlight exposure. Aqua Enviro and Scottish Water joined the INNOQUA consortium as part of the 4-year European research project of 20 partners that is being RESEARCH ROUND UP EU funding for INNOQUA rural wastewater systems project coordinated by Nobatek, a French Research and Technology Organisation. The two companies teamed up as the project directly addresses one of Scottish Water's strategic objectives of 'Sustainable Rural Communities'. Demonstration trials both within and outside of the EU are planned in the latter phases of the project, with Scottish Water hosting a demonstration unit. Paul Lavender, Business Development Manager at Aqua Enviro, said: "It's great that the EU has recognised the consortium's really innovative technologies and the impact these could have on meeting the challenges of decentralised wastewater treatment. Aqua Enviro is committed to driving innovation within the water industry, and this project will help us to meet this objective." A key step in the exploitation of any new technology in the water and wastewater sectors is design, installation and operation of prototype technologies RISING UP SSE's Brandon Rennet will be Thames Water's new chief financial officer (CFO) with effect from March 2017. Rennet is currently managing director, finance at SSE and will succeed Stuart Siddall, who is retiring. Sir Peter Mason, chairman of Thames Water Utilities, said: "Following Stuart Siddall's decision to retire we've conducted a thorough search for a new chief financial officer and I'm delighted to announce the board has appointed Brandon Rennet to this important post. Brandon has extensive experience in the utilities industry, having worked in the power sector for 14 years. He is a proven leader who will be joining Thames Water at a time of significant change in the industry." Zoe McLeod, a leading consumer advocate with a background working for the customer watchdog Consumer Focus, Citizens Advice and Friends of the Earth, has been appointed independent chair of South East Water's Customer Challenge Group (CCG). She succeeds Roger Darlington, who served in the post for five years. McLeod, who specialises in policy, communications and regulation issues, has more than ten years' experience championing customer concerns, with particular emphasis on vulnerable groups. The Westcountry Rivers Trust has appointed two new trustees to support its aims of restoring and protecting the South West's water environment. The environmental charity has recruited Andrew Southall, South West Operations Manager of flood and pollution prevention specialists Detectronic, and Professor David Butler, an expert in water engineering at the University of Exeter. under real conditions. In total, 11 demonstration sites will be used during the project in locations across the world, and each one will run for a year in order to simulate all climatic conditions. Scottish Water will host a demonstration site in a small rural setting in the Scottish Highlands. This site will have a collective sanitation system installed aimed at demonstrating low cost, sustainable, biologically- based wastewater treatment for small size housing units (20-30 people) in extreme weather conditions. Roi Otero, Innovation Programme Manager for Scottish Water, said "Scottish Water has a high proportion of rural works and developing a sustainable approach to water use, treatment and sludge recycling is a challenge. This exciting project will play a key role for us in the development of innovative new solutions to make our rural communities more sustainable," Otero concluded. ● 22 Innovation Zone: Phosphorus removal ● 25 Digging Deeper: Wastewater ragging ● 29 Research Notes: High rate algal ponds ● 31 Products: Valves 16-19 Jan International Water Summit, Abu Dhabi 18 Jan Utility Week Customer Conference, Birmingham 31 Jan WWT Wastewater conference, Birmingham. 2 Feb British Water Winter Reception, London COmING UP New wastewater system design guidelines developed at the University of British Columbia in Canada may help better protect aquatic life and save millions of pounds a year by preventing the formation of phosphorus deposits. In a recent study, engineers at UBC's Okanagan campus developed guidelines that can tailor the design of specialised filters, called fluidised bed reactors, to local conditions and help prevent phosphorus deposits from forming in wastewater systems. The guidelines also help ensure the fluidised bed reactors avoid the release of phosphorus into the environment. As phosphorus promotes oxygen-depleting algae blooms, its release can suffocate aquatic life, causing significant environmental damage and additional cost for wastewater operators. Using computer simulations, assistant professor of engineering Joshua Brinkerhoff and PhD candidate Nima Moallemi were able to test different types of water flow scenarios in a virtual environment and estimate the operating conditions of the fluidised bed reactors that achieve the best mixing of liquid and solid material to remove phosphorus. The guidelines allow designers to account for differing wastewater rates and quality found in different geographic regions, as the chemical makeup and amount of wastewater varies with geography and city size. Research reveals tailored reactors can prevent phosphorus formation www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | JANUARY 2017 | 21