Desalination in the Netherlands and Beyond
Emily Tenenbaum
January 27th 2011
Outline
 Intro to Voltea & Capacitive Deionization
 Overview of Freshwater Scarcity in Europe
 Freshwater Scarcity in the Netherlands
• Desalination for agriculture
• Desalination for municipal supply
• Desalination for industry
Voltea & CapDI
 Founded 2006, Netherlands-based
 Spin-off from Unilever
 Main activity: Develop and Commercialize
Capacitive Deionization technology
(CapDI)
 40 employees, growing rapidly
 CapDI basics
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Low feedwater pressure
Uses ion-exchange membranes
Treats tap to brackish water
Minimal pretreatment
No or little chemical use
Low energy use
Competitive with RO, EDR, ion exchange
Current commercial applications: cooling tower
make-up water, residential point-of-entry
Water Availability in Europe
Desalination Capacity by Country
World Resources Institute Water Stress Atlas, 2000
Water Availability in Europe
the Netherlands
France
Significant freshwater scarcity in Northern Europe
Belgium
Brackish Water in Netherlands
Depth of Brackish Water Interface
meters below Normal Amsterdam Waterlevel (NAP) to
reach [Cl-] = 1000 mg/L
Growing Problems:
•Coastal saltwater intrusion
caused by depletion of fresh
groundwater
•Inland brackish groundwater
Netherlands area = New Jersey + New Hampshire
Desalination Needs in the
Netherlands
1. Agricultural – saltwater intrusion in greenhouse areas
2. Municipal – increasingly brackish surface and groundwater
3. Industrial – Strong financial incentive to reduce industrial water
use. Many solutions require desalination
Greenhouses near Rotterdam
Tulip field near Voltea HQ
Desalination for Agriculture in
Westland
Depth of Brackish Water Interface
meters below Normal Amsterdam Waterlevel (NAP) to
reach [Cl-] = 1000 mg/L
Westland Region,
a.k.a. “Glass City”
Desalination for Agriculture in
Westland
 42% Dutch greenhouse
sector
 ~1% National GDP
 Brackish surface and
groundwater
 Low-efficiency RO
systems treat
groundwater for
greenhouses
 Deep injection of brine
 Upcoming government
ban on brine injection
Westland Greenhouse
Region
Desalination for Agriculture in
Westland
Problem: brackish water
challenge for
greenhouses
Solution: reuse WWTP
effluent for greenhouse
irrigation
Parameter WWTP
Effluent
Westland Greenhouse
Region
Harnaschpolder
WWTP
Greenhouse
max level
[Cl-]
135 mg/L 36 mg/L
[Na+]
100 mg/L 23 mg/L
~75% salt reduction
needed
Pilot Testing for Wastewater
Resuse
Long-term pilot testing underway of 3
desalination options:
 UF/RO (Evides)
 Innovative RO train (Veolia)
 CapDI (Voltea)
Pilot hall at Harnaschpolder WWTP
Harnaschpolder WWTP
Voltea engineer testing benchtop CapDI
units at WWTP
Desal for Municipal Water
Source: Oasen Drinkwater
 Saline water from marine deposit layers
and North Sea is seeping into drinking
water sources
 National drinking water chloride limit is
150 mg/L
 Drinking water providers forsee difficulty
in meeting the chloride limit
 Some drinking water wells already shut
down
 Drinking water providers exploring
brackish water desal options
 All projects still in pilot phase
Desal for Municipal Water
Voltea Pilot in Rotterdam
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Voltea Capacitive Deionization System
April - Nov 2011
Test CapDI on groundwater
Feed conductivity = 1.5 mS/cm
6 L/min (0.36 m3/hr)
Oasen drinking water station
Results promising!
• 80% salt removal
• 70% water recovery
• 0.4 kWh/m3 pure
• Stable operation
• Oasen interested in large-scale
CapDI system as RO alternative
Desal for Municipal Water
PURO Pilot
• Kickoff 2011
• Place RO system 100 m below
ground
• Reduced pumping energy
• Anerobic process, no iron
removal pretreatment needed
• Major maintenance challenges
with underground operation
Schematic of PURO pilot in Ridderkerk
Desalination for Industrial Water
Regional Water Costs
TAPWATER
€ 3.00
WASTEWATER
DISCHARGE
€ 2.50
€ 2.00
€ 1.50
€ 1.00
Germany
USA
Netherlands
Africa
Australia - NZ
Asia
America's
Europe - East
Europe - West
€-
World
€ 0.50
 Dutch tapwater is expensive (€1.75 /m3)
 Cost incentive for factories to find tapwater alternatives, or
reduce tapwater use
Desalination for Industrial Water
Voltea CapDI in Cooling Towers
Rabobank HQ in Utrecht
Capacitive Deionization System at
Rabobank HQ. ~2 m3/hr capacity
 Use CapDI to desalinate
feedwater to cooling towers
 Rabobank HQ in Utrecht
 Increase cycles of recirculation in
cooling tower from 3 to 14
 17% reduction tapwater use
 68% reduction wastewater
discharge
 75% reduction chemical usage
(antiscalents, corrosion
inhibitors)
Take Home Message
 Brackish ground and surface
water is a growing problem
in the Netherlands
 Problem affects agriculture,
drinking water supply, and
industry
 Desal will play a increasing
role in the Dutch water
industry t
Typical view from a window in the Netherlands
Desalination for Industrial Water
Dow Chemical Plant
Section of water plant at Dow Chemical
factory in Terneuzen
 Evides chosen by Dow to design, build,
finance, operate (DBFO) industrial
water plant
 Location with limited freshwater
 Plant produces process water, boiler
feed, cooling tower feed, ~3800 m3/hr
 Demi water initially from seawater RO –
major fouling problems (2000-2007 )
 2008 switched to MF/RO fed with
municipal wastewater
 Plan upgrade to membrane
bioreactor/RO fed with municipal
wastewater
NaCl Drinking water limitations
 Most drinking water is groundwater
 Dutch National limits on chloride are <150 ppm,
Na <120 ppm
 US secondary DW standard is 250 ppm
 EU chloride <250 ppm, Na <200 ppm, EC <2500
microS/cm
WRI water risk index
The 3 dimensions (23 total indicators) of water-related economic risk were determined by
WRI in collaboration with industry experts, financial analysts, and water specialists, and
include:
Access and growth constraints: provides a measure of water risks driven by the physical
availability and accessibility of water;
Cost risks: capture the cost risks faced by water users due to poor water quality,
regulatory uncertainty, or high prices of water and its treatment; and
Disruption potential: provides a measure of the tensions and conflicts around water driven
by social and regulatory concerns.
CapDI – How it Works
Desal for Municipal Water
Vitens Pilot in Friesland
• Vitens-largest drinking water
supplier in Netherlands
• Anerobic brackish water RO pilot in
Friesland (feed = 2.6 mS/cm)
• Deep well injection of anerobic
brine
• No antiscalents due to reinjection
restrictions
• 70% recovery
• Started in 2009
• 50 m3/hr
RO equipment in Vitens pilot trailer in
Noardburgum, Friesland