Wastewater Production, Treatment, and Use in China

Keqiang ZHANGProfessor, Ph.D tutor, Division Director

Agro-Environmental Protection Institute, MOA (AEPI)

March 2013

Outline

Wastewater production and treatmentWastewater use and disposal Regulations/implementation of national guidelinesFuture challengesCurrent approach of the government related to wastewater managementPossible solutions to make use of wastewater safer and productive

Water affairs in our lifeRiver Tap-water plant

Receiving water body

Groundwater

Sewage pipe

network

Municipal and industrial water utilization

City

Rainfall Sewage treatment plant

Rural water utilization

Domestic sewage•

Industrial sewage (in pretreatment discharge up to the standard) •

Industrial wastewater•

Initial rainwater (uncollected)•

Household

Public place

Hospital (in disinfection and pre-treatment)

Sewage source

Wastewater production and treatment Production

Industrial source: 73.833 billion m3/yearMunicipal source: 34.330 billion m3/year

(1st National Pollutant Source Census Bulletin, 2010)

Textile industrial wastewater discharge, Greenpeace, 2012

Fashion poison

Municipal wastewater drainage, Greenpeace, 2007

habitat or tomb?

72.97．Treatment Rate of Urban Domestic Wastewater （%）

82.36．Treatment Rate of Urban Sewage（%）

85.75．Recycling Rate of Industrial Wastewater（%）

95.34．Industrial Wastewater Standard-Reaching Discharge Rate（%）

0.93Urban Domestic Ammonia emissions

0.27　 Among：Industrial Ammonia Emissions

1.203．Total Ammonia Nitrogen Emissions（million ton）

8.03　　　　  Urban Living COD Emission

4.35　 Among：Industrial COD Discharge

12.382．total COD Discharge（million ton）

37.98　　　　 Urban Sewage Discharge

23.75　  Among：Industrial Wastewater Discharge

61.731．Total Discharge of Wastewater（billion ton）

Discharge and Treatment of Wastewater

From 2010 Environment Bulletin

Treatment

Regular approaches

Advanced measures

Disinfection

Bio-chemical approaches

Physical-chemical processes

Physical, chemical, biological ways

Bio-film adsorption

Photo-catalytic oxidation

Media filtration

Ultraviolet

Ozone

Chlorination

from the statistical data on national sewage treatment facility put into service by 2009.

Oxidationditch, 33.10%

activatedsludge

process,17.90%

A/A/O, 16.80%

SBR, 14.70%

A/0, 5.50%

BAF, 4.30%

Physicochemical+biochemistry, 1.90%

secondarybiochemical

treatment,1.20%

others, 4.60%

Wastewater Treatment Equipment

The history, including 3 stages, of wastewater irrigation in China began in 1956, and the wastewater irrigating facilities were built since 1957.

I 1956-1965 ：

Wastewater irrigation could increase water and fertilizer resource, and this irrigating method should be Vigorously promoted;

II 1965-1975 ：

III 1975-about 1998：

People start to doubt the pollutions from wastewater irrigation, but the area was still Extending.

Wastewater irrigation had a violent development. The area were Increased to 3.618 million ha in1998.

Wastewater use and/or disposal

Sewage recycling

Municipal sewage treatment plant

Urban recycling water plant

Agriculture

Industry Municipal administration and

gardening

Lifelandscape

Ground- water

irrigation

Sewage

There are 5 relatively large wastewater irrigation areas in China, and that is Beijing, Tianjin, Shenyang and Fushun, Shanxi and Xinjiang Shihezi.

Xinjiang Shihezi

Tianjin

Beijing Shenyang/Fushun

Shanxi

The wastewater irrigation area are mainly distributed in the Yellow river basin, the Liao river basin, the Hai river basin and the Huai river basin, accounted for above 90%.

The major pollutants exceed the standard were total hardness, nitride, sulfate, total bacteria and e. coli.

To soil: The physicochemical properties change of soil, such as Soil compaction, worse soil permeability, and secondary soil salinization and sodification. secondly serious organic matter and heavy metal pollution.

The crops yields of Shenyang and Fushun wastewater irrigation area were reduced by 11,250-22,500kg/hm2 in recent years, compared to contrast area.

Resource: China's Farmland Sewage Irrigation Development and Its Impact on Crop Research by Huang Chunguo.

Harms from wastewater irrigation

To crops: Heavy metal content exceed the standard, yields and quality decline.

To ground water:

Regulations and implementation of guidelines Official regulation•Technology and Policy of Municipal Sewage Treatment and Pollution Prevention and Control

—Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), 2000 Covered: environmental protection, resource conservation and

recycling, industrial sustainable development, biological and ecological security and healthy, etc.

National guidelines•Guideline of Urban Sewage Treatment and Pollution Prevention and Control Technology

—Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), 2001The Urban Sewage Recycling Technology Guide—General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and

Quarantine (AQSIQ), 2012

National Standards

Standards for Irrigation Water Quality (GB 5084-92) The Reuse of Urban Recycling Water-Water Quality Standard for Scenic Environment Use (GB/T18921-2002) The Reuse of Urban Recycling Water-Water Quality Standard for Industrial Uses (GB/T 19923-2005) The Reuse of Urban Recycling Water-Quality of Farmland Irrigation Water (GB 20922-2007) Technology Code for Municipal Wastewater Reuse in Agriculture (GB/T 22103-2008) ……

Implementation of guidelines

Publications

Available management on the water resource

(Zhejiang province, Baidu)

Publicity Poster(MWR, 2010)

Challenges In TechnicalSave the electricity and heat energy & Lower the consumptionGHG reduction during the course of wastewater treatment

Available approach about sludge treatment and recyclingWhere is the reclaimed wastewater going?

In policySupport of advanced technologies and processes in the sludge

treatment and recycling

Improvement of market adjustment mechanism

In administrationReinforcement of monitoring and management power

Feasible implementation of corresponding regulations

Energy consumption status analysis ofthe sewage treatment

E.g.: Specific power consumption distribution in the municipal sewage treatment plant (Dongfang LIU, 2010)

Power consumption in some plants

Scale (104 t) Grade Consumption(kW.h) Note

1.2 2 0.218

Without Anaerobic digestion2 2 0.232

4.5-5 2 0.335

1.4 2 0.255 With digestion

Power consumption from the sewage treatment accounts for 50%-80% of the total amount while the sludge treatment only accounts for 15%-40%.Sewage treatment is the key for the energy conservation.

The energy consumption for 1.0kg BOD elimination is 0.5kW.h.

Pollutants emission from our national power plants is nearly to 7.23kg/kW.h.

1.0kg BOD elimination will induce to 3.61kg pollutants emission (1.2kg wastewater and

0.37kg sludge)

Sewage treatment is the industry with high consumption and high contamination.

Energy consumption analysis of treatment process

Analysis of sewage treatment/energy consumption pollution

(Dongfang LIU, 2010)

Government’s approach to wastewater management

Focal point transformation Sewage treatment pond Producing source

Requirement for the sludge disposal and treatment will be gradually raised.

Pertinent policy and criteria are going to be improved in light of the aim “energy conservation and emission reduction”.

E.g.: Environmental/ecological/green taxation set-up

Since about 2000, the government of China did not promote Wastewater irrigation on farmland.However state and local governments still support some research projects on reclaimed water irrigation (basically meet Standards for Irrigation Water Quality (GB 5084-2005) )

Possible solutions

Thank you for your attention