Last but not least: metals! Should we rethink wastewater treatment methods and stop viewing wastewater as waste, but rather as a resource to be recovered?
Most metals are finite resources that have been exploited extensively since the 1950s, but they are also largely imported. The European Union, wishing to reduce its dependence on raw materials as part of a circular economy approach, has set a target of recycling 25% of its annual consumption by 2030.
After extraction, metals are returned to the environment. Wastewater treatment plants are therefore one of the last sites where metals pass through treated water and sludge before being discharged, suggesting that the various effluents from wastewater treatment plants could be targeted for recovery.
Initially intended for disposal, metals have increasingly been recognized as a promising secondary source. Extracting these metals from waste/effluents will reduce pressure on natural resources and dependence on imports.
This report reviews potential secondary sources in the industrial and domestic wastewater treatment sector, the various metal elements available, expected concentrations, and technological advances in separation and recovery processes.
Resrecovery is one of the projects developed as part of Circular Wallonia. Visit https://cebedeau.be/fr/blog/article/circular-wallonia to find all the studies carried out, as well as the tools implemented to improve water management in businesses.
