Wastewater treatment of the future

While only 10% of the cities in the world are equipped with treatment plants (1), wastewater treatment is one of the major worldwide challenges to avoid the deterioration of the ecological balance and meet human needs in terms of fresh water. Directly discharged into rivers and the sea, wastewater can exceed the natural treatment capacity of the aquatic milieus and trigger eutrophication phenomena. It is also a major source of microbial contamination. 40% of the world's population is currently deprived of any treatment system for its wastewater and 1 billion people have no access to drinking water. The number one killer in the world, i.e. the lack of drinking water, is an obstacle to development.

(1) La pollution des océans (Oceans' pollution) - Christian Buchet, Combien de catastrophes avant d'agir (How many disasters before we act?) - Nicolas Hulot, Points Seuil publisher - 2003.

It is all the more urgent to find solutions for the treatment and reuse of wastewater accessible to most people in light of the fact that the urban population of Southern hemisphere countries will double by 2030 to reach 4 billion, increasing wastewater discharge and drinking water requirements by just as much.

The prevention of environmental and health risks also requires the improvement of treatment processes in order to isolate and confine toxic substances and emerging pollutants. To make wastewater treatment activities part of the sustainable development approach, a massive reduction in the consumption of energy and chemicals of these activities is essential, combined with the recycling of the high-value elements contained in urban wastewater (water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus etc.) once separated from harmful elements.

Our R&D work aims at:

• optimizing the efficiency and cost of biological treatment processes and developing integrated wastewater management solutions preserving the natural milieus and fresh water resources;
• designing tomorrow's wastewater treatment system, based on the systematic recovery of all wastewater and sludge components: reusable water, organic material convertible into bioenergy and biomaterials, mineral materials transformable into fertilizers;
• anticipating risk management with regard to future environmental and health issues.

OUR RESEARCH FOCUSES ON:

• improving our knowledge of the processes;
• developing advanced investigation tools;
• the new benefits of biotechnology and microbiology;
• the integration of new modeling and regulation tools.

2007 HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• production of biopolymers complying with the specifications of a bioplastics manufacturer;
• control of air emissions: compounds responsible for unpleasant smells, in particular greenhouse gases;
• modeling of the nitrification process;
• launch of the construction of a test platform for new wastewater treatment processes.