ecReUse

The initial situation

Securing the water supply in the Eastern Cape of South Africa is a large-scale challenge. This is attributable to the fact that the corresponding infrastructure for water supply and wastewater disposal in the region is undersized and outdated, while the shortage of water is increasing at the same time. These factors have a negative effect on the availability and quality of the water supply for the population, industry and agriculture.

Companies in some industrial sectors find it difficult to remain competitive, as they are forced to make alternative and expensive water resources accessible to secure their production. Considering the diverse challenges that are characteristic of the supply situation in the Eastern Cape, effective management and the use of water resources is of vital importance to achieving a sustainable supply in the region.

The approach

The model project “ecReUse” develops technical solutions for the water recycling in industry and agriculture as well as for the sustainable generation of energy from sewage treatment plants in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. Innovative environmental technologies are integrated into an existing sewage treatment plant process as demonstration plants and are at the same time used for capacity building measures.

The objectives and measures

Municipal wastewater is specifically to be treated for reuse in industry, especially in the automotive sector and agriculture. This also includes water treatment for an aquaponics system. Aquaponics is the combination of fish farming in aquaculture and plant cultivation in hydroponics, which is intended to save water, energy and artificial fertilisers.

The technologies used for this are an anaerobic reactor for biogas production, a membrane bio-reactor and a continuous sand filter.

ecReUse contributes to increasing the efficiency of water use, reducing pressure on natural water resources and establishing circular economy concepts in South Africa. This aims at meeting the increasing challenges of regional water shortage in the Eastern Cape of South Africa as a result of climate change and human factors. Decentralised energy generation and the associated optimisation of sewage treatment plant process management is intended to also relieve the already overloaded electricity grid. Accompanying capacity-building measures are to complement the training of local specialists and promote the operation and circulation of environmental technologies in South Africa in the long term.