The Danish water company Aquaporin has won an order in China to help a landfill meet the country’s strict discharge limits by treating leachate more efficiently.
In H1 2022, the landfill will receive an advanced containerised pilot system developed by Aquaporin in collaboration with Gradiant Environmental Technology to provide a sustainable and economical solution for treating landfill leachate. Aquaporin is currently involved in similar pilot projects in Southern China and Europe with the purpose of testing the technology to gain insights that will enable developing a final solution for the global leachate treatment market.
Suggesting that this could be a technology breakthrough that has the potential to provide new economic solution for leachate treatment, Matt Boczkowski, CCO and deputy CEO of Aquaporin, explained that the company will have a key reference showcasing its forward osmosis (FO)-based leachate treatment solution not only to the Chinese market, but globally, when the pilot project is completed this summer.
Aquaporin’s containerised system uses FO to further reduce the leachate volume as compared to what is possible with current technologies and methods. With lower volumes, smaller evaporators are required, meaning landfills will use less energy to eliminate the leachate. In parallel, clean water will be generated for discharge or reuse, contributing to a more sustainable future in wastewater treatment and lower carbon footprint.
Jason Yu, managing director of Gradiant China, added: “The demand for leachate minimization or zero liquid discharge (ZLD) is a very big market in China. With the system developed by Aquaporin and Gradiant, the leachate industry has an innovative solution to meet local regulations. We believe this solution will help our customers treat leachate with lower costs and stable operation.”
Leachate management is a global challenge as it is one of the most complex and difficult wastewaters to treat. The subject is getting increased attention, not only in China, but on a global scale, where landfills are witnessing growing regulations for discharge limits for water pollutants that were previously discharged to water bodies untreated. This traction has given Aquaporin the opportunity to demonstrate how its innovative FO technology can help landfills live up to national policies on environmental protection by meeting water discharge regulations in leachate applications.
