Eerbeek Water Roundabout pilot project: efficient water management for the paper and cardboard industry

KWR was responsible for a number of aspects including the monitoring of micropollutants and membrane integrity, and brine management. The project also demonstrates that recycling WWTP effluent is a possible way to compensate for water losses in the water roundabout. Advanced technologies such as nanofiltration and Electrodialysis Reversal (EDR) were used to treat and recycle water. In principle, this means that no more groundwater will be needed for the paper and cardboard mills.    

Objectives

The project achieved a range of objectives.

• It demonstrated that the product water meets the quality requirements of the paper and cardboard mills.
• It produced brine flows to test brine treatment technologies and define the best brine treatment strategy, producing acids and alkalis or hypochlorite.
• It generated a set of guiding principles for the design of the “full-scale” water plant on the basis of the lessons learnt.

Water recycling hub

In the event of a positive follow-up, the construction of the plant itself is likely to begin in 2025, with the goal of creating one of the largest hubs for water recycling in the industry. The Eerbeek Water Roundabout project promises to be an important step towards sustainable water management in the paper and cardboard industry and it is a model for industrial water recycling projects.

You can find more information about the project on the project page.