Dr. Jani Salminen Finnish Environment Institute

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Outline

1)  Water in the context of circular economy (CE)

2)  Selected key results and findings of the project ”Towards water-smart circular economy” funded by Maj and Tor Nessling foundation

3)  Focus on wastewater treatment 1)  From removal to recovery 2)  Minimization of losses and inefficiencies 3)  Waste water treatment in CE – decentralized solutions 4)  Industrial symbioses

Figure: Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Water in the context of circular economy (CE) ●  CE is an economic system that aims at more sustainable use of

natural resources ○  Applicable to water in terms of quantity (water use; water

scarcity) and quality (wastewaters; water pollution) ●  Currently, water is missing in the illustrations of CE

○  Need for 1) identification of roles and connections between water and CE; 2) accurate statistical data on water and policy analyses on water in the context of CE => water-smart CE

Need for • Sustainable enonomic system • Solutions for (fresh) water scarcity & pollution • Sustainability evaluation of globalization & global trade

Concept • Definition of water-smart CE • Connections between water & CE • Water-related benefits & risks of CE

Current status • Water use in various sectors within economies • Water pollution by various sectors within economies • Virtual water in imported commodities

Future prospects • Wates-smart solutions for various sectors • Consumers’ water-smart choices

Towards water-smart CE • Drivers and barriers • Policy instruments and recommendations •  Indicators for water-smart CE

What?

Where to?

How?

Why?

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More info (in Finnish): www.syke.fi/hankkeet/vesiviisas

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Water withdrawal (excl. cooling water) (Mm3/a)

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Water accounting for Finland

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P to waterbodies within the Finnish food chain (tn/a)

Commodity   Value Meur   Fresh water use Mm3  

Domestic   Imports  

Vegetarian foods   5 887   14,6   67,0  Non-vegetarian foods   5 148   28,9   61,3  Beverages and tobacco   4 656   5,0   10,5  Clothing and footwear   4 174   2,3   150,4  Housing and energy   24 728   269,7   41,8  Household equipment, furnishins etc.   5 025   4,8   125,0  Health   4 150   3,9   11,8  Transport   11 411   6,7   43,1  Communication   2 377   1,8   3,9  Recreation and culture   10 919   11,6   64,0  Education   382   0,4   0,5  Hotels and restaurants   4 928   15,8   18,1  Misc. goods and services   8 370   10,7   42,5  Tourism expenditures abroad   2 311   0,0   25,7  Total   94 466   376,2   665,7  Goods   43 141   69,3   535,7  Services   51 325   306,9   130,0  

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Freshwater withdrawal within the Finnish food chain (Mm3/a)

1) From removal to recovery

o  Recovery of valuable constituents ○  Valuable constituents in different industries ○  Nutrients ○  Costs of recovery too high in many cases – economic instruments

to change relative prices of virgin materials compared to recycled materials

o  Recovery of energy

Recovery of potato protein from the process water at the potato starch plant (Finnamyl Ltd, Kokemäki) has four assets: 1) Recovered protein is more valuable than the main product (starch), 2) Process water can be recycled and less raw water is needed, 3) Wastewater need much less treatment and 4) The volume of the nutrient-rich concentrate becomes low enough to enable spreading at the fields next spring and storaging until that.

Wastewater treatment plant at Kakolanmäki produces 10 % of all district heat and 90 % district cooling of the city of Turku.

2) Decentralized solutions for hot spots

o  Specific removal/recovery of constituents o  To improve the operation of municipal wastewater treatment

plants o  To remove harmful substances prior to their dilution and

improve the quality of recovered materials at the municipal WWTP (pure/uncontaminated/safe cycles)

o  Drugs in wastewaters o  25 % of all drugs used in hospitals vs. 1 % of all tap water distributed

o  Heavy metals, fats & greases etc. o  Wastewater treatment as a service o  Wastewater charges according to discharged nutrients and

harmful substances o  Financing instruments for research & innovation and tax

relief to R&D

3) Minimization of losses & inefficiencies

o  Focus on the maintenance of water and wastewater networks o  Systematic preventive work has several assets

o  Lower wastewater volumes with less variable composition o  Proactive instead of reactive o  Improves cost-efficiency

o  Water efficiency program for Finland

Lahti Aqua has reduced the loss of tap water in their distribution network from >20 % to 5-7 % by systematic acquisition and monitoring of data. They also successfully apply these simple methods to their sewage collection network.

4) Industrial symbioses – wastewater as a resource Case example: Wastewater treatment plant & industrial

symbioses at the ECO-3 CE area in Nokia (scheme)

9

Jani Salminen, Jari Koskiaho & Sarianne Tikkanen Finnish Environment Institute

Mari Heikkinen & Ilmo Mäenpää University of Oulu

Henna Ryömä & Teija Kirkkala Pyhäjärvi Institute

Tanja Suni & Iina Koskinen Future Earth Suomi

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