Gruppo CAP Case Study SUMMARY

FULL SCALE BIOREFINERY AND

TERRITORIAL STRATEGY FOR

RESOURCE RECOVERY AND REUSE

The Gruppo CAP Case Study

SUMMARY

GRUPPO CAP
FROM THE SUSTAINABILITY PLAN TO THE MASTER PLAN
A LIVING LAB TO TRAIN OUR TEAMS FIRST OUTCOMES THE BIOREFINERY
DIGITALIZATION AND NETWORKING AS ENABLERS
CONCLUSIONS

GRUPPO CAP

Investments of the italian water utilities – benchmark 2017

Investiments on Investments

population

on revenues

Medium/Big Water Utilities*

34 €/p.c.

22%

CAP Holding

46 €/p.c

33%

GRUPPO CAP - SUSTAINABILITY PLAN 2033

https://sostenibilita.gruppocap.it/application/files/5515/5964/3927/CAP_Piano_sostenibilita_2033.pdf

THE MASTER PLAN

▪▪

Gruppo CAP provides municipal water and wastewater services to over 2 million inhabitants, producing in 61 waste-water treatment plants where almost 80.000 ton/year dewatered sludge is produced.

Biopolimeri PHA (ton/anno)

Fosforo come struvite (ton/anno)

Totale GRUPPO CAP
Peschiera B.
Sesto S.G. Robecco Bresso

In such a scenario Gruppo CAP can and wants to deliver a circular economy approach. To this aim Gruppo CAP has defined

a territorial Master Plan to implement eco-innovative and energy-efficient solutions to

▪

renovate and innovate existing wastewater treatment

Pero

plants

▪

close the circular value chain by applying low-carbon

techniques to recover materials that are otherwise lost.

0

500

1000 1500

▪

The existing municipal wastewater treatment plants can be renovated and integrated to become multipurpose urban biorefineries that serve the citizens to treat and valorize municipal waste streams, such as wastewaters and organic waste, towards a coherent urban strategy

▪ In order to include leading edge sustainable solutions, the Master Plan (50 M€ budget) considers synergic interaction with large ongoing European Horizon2020 innovation actions, such as the “SMART-Plant” and

the “Digital Water Cities” projects

▪ Existing anaerobic digesters will be valorized towards the best exploitation of the existing reaction volumes, industrial symbiosis opportunities will be explored in order to provide better and cheaper services to our

customers

THE NETWORK – OUR PLANTS

Bresso

Sesto San Giovanni

Turbigo

Perform Water 2030

Industrial effluents
CHP and biomethane
Thermal valorization

of sewage sludge and P-recovery

Truccazzano

Anaerobic digestion for organic matters

CHP and biomethane

Pero

Anaerobic digestion for organic matters + VFA
Grit and sands valorization
CHP and biomethane Perform Water 2030 Heating distrcits

Idroscalo –

research center

Anaerobic digestion

for organic matters

Perform Water 2030

Peschiera

Settala

Fertilizers CHP

Robecco

Fertilizers
Grit and sands valorization

San Giuliano
Bareggio
Rozzano

Perform Water 2030
Solar
Fertilizers

Trezzano

CHP

Solar

6

THE NETWORK – PERFORM WATER 2030 LIVING LAB

http://www.performwater2030.it

WORKING PACKAGES - ENERGY

2019

2018

2017

ROBECCO BRESSO

4.564.839 kwh produced

6% of the WWTP

consumption

COGENERATION

SESTO
PESCHIERA

13.000 MWh estimated production

PERO PERO

DISTRICT HEATING

BRESSO

Bresso 558 cars (15.000 km/y)

BIOMETHANE

Pero 340 cars

TREZZANO BAREGGIO

217.840 kWh produced (estimation 2019)

PHOTOVOLTAICS

6% of the WWTP consumption

WORKING PACKAGES: NUTRIENTS

LINEA DI AZIONE

VFA

2020

2019

2017/2018

Conversion of existing volume (thickeners) -> Sludge fermentation: 1ton VFA/d (Sesto) + 1ton VFA/d (Robecco) to be resued in substitution of C (moving towards SCENA-SMART

PLANT process)

SESTO
ROBECCO

From biogas desulphurisation ->

1500 kgS/year

Ongoing test for concentration and recovery

BRESSO
SULPHUR RECOVERY

PESCHIERA ROZZANO

28% of our sludge in 2018 became compost (mixed with garden waste) or fertilizer (calcium carbonate)

SAN

GIULIANO

FROM SLUDGE TO

FERTILIZERS

69.268.550 m3/year (21.8% total vol)

REUSED
WASTEWATER
15 PLANTS

2 plants direct reuse for agricultural and civil purpose (street washing trucks)

13 plant indirect agricultural water reuse

But…..what about phosphorus?
PHOSPHORUS RECOVERY IN THE CAP AREA

▪ The average concentration of phosphorus in the sewage sludge produced in Lombardy is 2.10%
(as Ptot), in line with the value of the 75th percentile of the sample on a national scale.

▪ The average ash fraction in the sludge of the same sample is about 30%, leading to an estimate of

7% Ptot in sludge ashes or 16% as P2O5.

▪ In Italy, almost all wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) do not operate biological phosphorus removal -> low phosphate content in centrate (30-60 mgP/L)

▪ In Italy, 98% of the wastewater plants are under 100.000 PE

▪ There are two main reasons that make phosphorus recovery from the water line less attractive in
Italy if compared to other typical situations in Northern Europe:

– Firstly, in the WWTPs considered, influent P concentration is about 4-5 mg/l, lower than the reference system considered for the assessments in Northern Europe WWTPs, usually about 8-9 mg/l.

– Secondly, the use of iron and aluminium salts for the chemical precipitation of phosphorus is widely used.

Source: R. Canziani and R. Di Cosmo 2018 - STATO DELL’ARTE E POTENZIALITÀ DELLE TECNOLOGIE

DI RECUPERO DEL FOSFORO DAI FANGHI DI DEPURAZIONE – Ingegneria dell’Ambiente vol 5 3/2018

SLUDGE DISPOSAL STRATEGIES

▪ From 2016 we have redesigned our strategies

DESTINATION

2015

2016

2017

2018

with a «zero-landfill» approach.

AGRICOLTURE LANDFILL
CEMENT INDUSTRY
FERTILIZERS
56,0% 40,0% 4,0%
77,4% 16,2% 2,3%
69,7% 1,1% 4,7%
51,1% 1,3% 3,6%

▪ From July 2016, due to some market negative

externalities, we have pushed on sludge to fertilizers solutions increasing, at the same time, sludge co-incineration.

0,0%

5,0%

28,1%

15,9%

CO-INCINERATION

0,0%

4,1%

19,4%

DESTINATION

100,0%
50,0%
0,0%

▪ From 2017, sludge disposal in landfills is <
1,5%

▪ 8 changes in legislation in less than 4 years…

2015

2016

2017

2018 - budget

▪ Disposal costs are increasing

RECUPERO

SMALTIMENTO

PRODOTTO

90 000

140

130 120 110 100 90

▪ Unit costs by destination are now flat with no

correlation with potential nutrients/energy recovery opportunities

129

80 000 70 000 60 000 50 000

40 000

30 000 20 000 10 000
-

109
100
94

84

80

75

70 60

▪ From 2018 several water utilities have started

sending sludges to other EU countries (200

€/ton)

50 40 30 20 10 -

▪ How long would it be sustainable without new strategies?

SLUDGE PRODUCTION (ton/year)

Average cost (€/ton)

THE BIOREFINERY

OBJECTIVE

Transforming the existing municipal waste incineration plant into a biorefinery for sludge (65.000 ton/y) and OFMSW (30.000 ton/y) treatment and for nutrients/energy recovery

THE OPPORTUNITY

6000 t/y digestate to compost
30.000 t/y OFMSW

62.000 t/y sludge + 3.000 t/y dried sludge
220 mc/h biomethane

PCI mix: 3’120

kJ/kg tq

6240 t/y ashes 4.800 MWh/y el. 27.600 MWh heat (district heating)

POSITIVE EFFECT ON SLUDGE DISPOSAL COSTS

Mercato estero - hp no agricoltura
Mercato esterno - hp 2019

Outsourcing
Sludge

2018 - budget realistico

Internalization (fluidized bed)

Internalizzazione

0

20

40

60

80

100 120 140

2018 - budget realistico
Mercato esterno - Mercato estero - hp
Internalizzazione hp 2019

0no agricoltura
129

CAPEX

OPEX
53 41
0

100

109

€/ton

…and on valorizations costs of OFMSW thanks to the reuse of existing anaerobic digesters

and of the existing effluents treatment capacity (-15/20% vs market)

POSITIVE EFFECT ON the ENVIRONMENT - LCA

A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR P-RECOVERY – Water Stream

▪ Integrated treatment of sewage and OFMSW:

▪ 40 tonP/y of phosphorus as struvite (compared to 6 tonP/year with only sludges)

▪ The VFA plant (from primary and excess sludge) is under commissioning

▪ 160-180 tCOD/y of organic chemical (VFA) for denitrification/biological phosphorus removal in water line + 110-130 tonCOD/year for supernatant

▪ SCENA plant realization by the end of 2020 -> designed both for sludge and
OFMSW supernatant treatment

▪ Still looking for a partner for a struvite demonstration plant…

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR P-RECOVERY? – Sludge Stream

62.000 t/year dewatered sludges

Drier

(24% TS)

Phosphorus recovery technologies still to be assessed

ASHES
+
+
(6.800 ton/y )

500 tonP/year?

Fluidised bed reactor

3.000 t/year dried sludges (90% TS)

VALUE CHAIN STILL TO BE DEFINED

Legislation and

Raw materials

Treatment and extraction

End use

other initiatives

▪ Need for centralized treatment plants (sludge mono-
▪ STRUBIAS

▪ Is the CAP project «big» enough to

▪ End-users still to be

ensure profitability?

involved in Italy

▪ Organic fertilzers

regulation

▪ Which is the most suitable

incineration and

WWTP+OFMSW still to be developed in Italy) technical solution for the CAP case
▪ Italian Phosphorus

platform

▪ Which is the best business model?

▪ Decentralized P-extraction plants?

▪ Real productivity to

be assess trough pilots
▪ One unique regional platform? ▪ Export of ashes?

TIME SCHEDULE

December 2016

July 2018

MOU

Preliminary design and investment approved by Authority

December 2018 -

GO from municipalities
Stakeholders engagement

September 2018 - December 2019

Detailed design and permits

December 2020

Works

Commencement

date

June 2020

Tendering

November 2022 – OFMSW

November 2023 - Sludge treatment

We believe in Citizens participation

http://www.biopiattaformalab.it/

DIGITALIZATION AND EUROPEAN NETWORKING AS ENABLER

•

Call H2020-SC5-11-2018 «Digital solutions for water: linking the physical and digital world for water solutions»

••

•

Project duration: 42 months Start date: June 2019

Partnership: 23 + 1 (Coordinator) partners

DWC will create new linkages between the

digital and the physical world by developing,

deploying, assessing and bringing to the market a panel of 18 advanced tailor-made data and digital technologies for integrated water management.

DWC digital solutions will be deployed in five

major European urban and periurban areas,

Berlin, Milan, Copenhagen, Paris and Sofia, representing about 30 million inhabitants, i.e.

6% of Europe’s population, facing common issues concerning water and wastewater management and digitization.

https://sc5.easme-web.eu/?p=820954

DIGITALIZATION AND EUROPEAN NETWORKING AS ENABLER

MILAN demo site

City leader: CAP Holding City objectives:

#1 Safe water reuse in peri-urban areas #2 Improved water-food-energy-nexus management #3 Mobile tools for enhanced water demand and supply match-making

Where?

In Milan Peschiera Borromeo WWTP (overall treatment capacity 516,000 P.E. including 250,000 P.E. for the second treatment line which will be used for reuse purposes; area of the WWTP catchment: 2,230 ha)

What?

➢

DWC will deploy a comprehensive network of multi-parameter sensors to monitor the contamination risk of

water reuse in the Milan Peschiera Borromeo WWTP including sensors for real-time in-situ E.coli and enterococci measurements, tested for the first time on a reuse operation in Europe.

➢

DWC will further deploy a new drone unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) together with a conventional sensor

network to monitor effects of water stress in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. The newly gained real-time knowledge will be used to build up an early warning system to inform stakeholders and prevent microbial and toxic contamination linked to water reuse and to provide a serious

game raising public awareness on environmental footprint

➢➢

Available data and early warning signals will be integrated into the WebGIS platform ‘Acque di Lombardia’ for

the Peschiera Borromeo WWTP catchment. The WebGIS will foster stakeholder engagement and support informed decision on water reuse allocation and

will be used in a new interoperable match-making ICT platform to link water demand for irrigation and safe

water availability and quality.

https://sc5.easme-web.eu/?p=820954

CONCLUSIONS

▪ Italy and Italian water utilities are looking for “adapted” comparative cost estimations of phosphorus recovery technologies (both on sludge or ashes) in order to “initiate” the P-recovery market;

▪ As Gruppo Cap we are ready to host initiatives and pilots to support Regional
/National strategies and regulation;

▪ Sizes and economies of scale matter, we need networking and pioneers ▪ We believe that a revision of the End of Waste legislation will support circular economy strategies

www.gruppocap.it