Tools to measure circularity

Apply tools to measure how circular your current operations are, or to estimate how circular your plans will turn out to be

Sustainability and circularity are societal objectives – but what is sustainable and how do you measure how circular a solution is? Instruments and tools able to systematically assess these aspects are needed to support the appraisal and decision-making process.

Methods, tools and products

KWR develops and uses a variety of methods, practical application tools and instruments to assess and render measurable the impact of actions and decision-making on sustainability and societal benefits. We can also help you monitor your progress and circular performance. Being able to measure how circularly you work, or how your circular choices turn out, is after all essential in advancing effectively towards a circular approach and economy.

Quality system for recovered products

Various barriers at the interface of technology, knowledge, regulations, collaboration and the economy stand in the way of the development and roll out of systems through which residuals are returned to the resource loop. By establishing a quality system for the products recovered from the water cycle (both production of drinking water, and treatment of municipal or industrial wastewater), and by paying specific attention to the legal and regulatory challenges, we can break through the current impasse. In this context, guides for the safe recovery and reuse of resources in a circular economy are essential. Among others, KWR is working on:

  • Establishing operational quality assurance for resource reuse.
  • Possibilities in the current and future legal and regulatory regime regarding circular resources. A broad consortium within KNAP is researching the closure of the nutrient loops from municipal wastewater treatment and agri-food process-water treatment (Closing the Loop of Nutrients from Wastewater and Process Water). Together with the partners, we are mapping out (quantitively and qualitatively) the recyclable fertilisers, their agricultural values, and their possible disposal routes, and working on a quality system with criteria with which to assess the recycled fertilisers.
  • The goal of the Micronutrients in the Resource Loop project was to lay the foundation for closing the resource loop of essential micronutrients in the entire food chain (agro-food-waste system). The focus was on the direct reuse of micronutrients via the streams containing micronutrients, and their indirect reuse following the treatment of these streams. Many micronutrients are trace elements that are indispensable for plant growth, and are therefore often added in agriculture to artificial and organic fertilisers. With a view to the circular economy, it is important that the typically linear applications of micronutrients be turned towards loop closure. Other projects include research on reuse of treatment sludge from drinking water production, reuse of the aerobic biomass from the sugar-beet industry, kitchen and garden waste and household wastewater.
  • Assessment framework for the use of energy for resource recovery or energy savings.

Analyse, visualise, simulate and optimise

KWR employs a variety of tools to gain insight into the challenges that the transition to circular systems and the use of sustainable energy sources entail. KWR experts apply optimisation, simulation and visualisation tools for the analysis at tactical-strategic level, monitoring and advanced control at operational level, and work continually on improving these instruments. They analyse potential comprehensive solutions, and assess these on their performance, costs, benefits, and their environmental and other sustainability aspects. We apply methods to measure, and comprehensively assess, climate neutrality or positivity, as a means of verifying the progress of the water and water-related sectors. 

KWR’s analytical toolkit includes, among others: 

    • Societal cost-benefit analyses. 
    • Analyses of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) or Life Cycle Costs (LCC), which determine a system’s potential on techno-economic bases. 
    • Tools like life-cycle analysis (LCA), eco-efficiency, footprinting and other environmental-impact terms that offer insight into the effects on the ecology, humans (health), environment and climate under various scenarios. 
    • Instruments for monitoring and adaptive control, directed at the optimisation of the economic and sustainability aspects of integrated systems.

Projects

Calculation of water utilities’ CO2 footprint

An Operational Code for CO2 Footprint Calculation has been developed for drinking water utilities. With this Operational Code, the drinking water sector wishes to formalise the calculation in order to achieve greater uniformity and consistency in the calculation method. Since the code is seen as a proposal, the drinking water utilities can interpret it according to their situation, selecting those elements they include or exclude in their calculation. This flexibility also makes possible the phased introduction of certain elements into the calculation, which could be needed, for example, because the tools for an exact quantification are not yet available.

 

Softening 2.0

To identify what the best option would be for a new water softening system in Leiduin, five different scenarios were compared in terms of Total Costs of OwnershipTCO  and Life CycleAanalysis LCA. Pellet softening, particularly on the basis of lime milk produced on location, seemed to be the most favourable option. If only the carbon footprint is considered as an environmental impact when green power is used, RO processes would actually seem to be slightly more favourable than pellet processes.

 

Environmental impact of NaOH and lime milk in drinking water treatment

All kinds of chemicals are used to treat drinking water. Caustic soda and lime milk are used on a large scale. On the basis of information from the literature and manufacturers, calculations have been made to determine the current environmental impact of these chemicals current environmental impact of these chemicals and the extent to which it can be reduced.