CoMinGreat

Competence platform for micropollutants in the Greater Region

Project duration: 01/2021 - 12/2022

Processed by: siwawi

Persons in charge:

• Jonas Wilhelm M.Sc.
• Anja Multhaup M.Sc
• Dr.-Ing. Henning Knerr
• Prof. Dr.-Ing Ulrich Dittmer

Funding:

• European Union, Cross-border Program for European Territorial Cooperation (INTERREG V)

Co-Funding:

• Ministry of Environment, Energy, Food and Forestry of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate
• Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection of Saarland
• Ministère de l'Environnment, du Climat et du Développement durable du Luxembourg

Active partner:

• Entsorgungsverband Saar EVS, lead partner (D)
• University of Luxembourg UL (L)
• Centre National de Recherche Scientifique CNRS (F)
• Hydreos (F)
• Centre Belge d'étude et de documentation de l'eau CEBEDEAU (B)
• TU Kaiserslautern (D)

Reason:

Micropollutants, such as active pharmaceutical ingredients and pesticides, are increasingly posing a challenge in the urban water cycle. These substances enter water bodies selectively via municipal wastewater treatment plants and stormwater discharges as well as via diffuse inputs. Comprehensive water protection therefore requires, among other things, the upgrade of relevant municipal wastewater treatment plants with advanced process steps for micropollutant elimination. 

The Greater Region (GR) consists of the French region Grand Est, the belgian Wallonia, Luxembourg and the federal states Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate. It is characterized by transboundary river basins, numerous national borders and thus different political decision makers.
In the GR area, several projects have been carried out in the past years on the different aspects of micropollutants in the urban water cycle. The investigated subjects, the carried out measurement programmes and the reviewed techniques were just as heterogeneous as the characteristics of the studied catchment areas.

Project aims

The overall objective of the project CoMinGreat is the collection and harmonization of knowledge in the Greater Region in the field of micropollutants, the development of existing competencies, the transfer of knowledge, and the promotion of cross-border cooperation. For this purpose, a comprehensive internet platform on micropollutants, cleaning processes and synergy effects combined with an interactive map will be created. In addition, an information and demonstration center will be established as a central contact point for stakeholders and decision makers in the GR.
Another goal is the development of a model-based planning and operation tool, which will enable an immission-based and resource-oriented operation of the plants. For this purpose, a water model and a wastewater treatment plant model will be combined and different processes for micro-pollutant elimination will be set up in parallel on a wastewater treatment plant and simultaneously modeled.
The results of the project will be used to link and, if necessary, harmonize the strategies currently being developed in the countries of the Greater Region for dealing with micro-pollutants from wastewater disposal.

Approach

Establishment of an internet-based micropollutant platform as a knowledge database

The knowledge of the actors and decision-makers in the GR in the field of micropollutants is bundled and communicated on the Internet platform in order to reduce knowledge deficits with regard to the handling of micropollutants in the urban water cycle. Among other things, an interactive map showing pollution in water bodies and wastewater treatment plants with additive treatment stages is to be integrated on the Internet platform. The platform provides information on ongoing and already completed projects and established technologies. Information for political decision-makers is prepared in a suitable manner. Furthermore, the platform shall provide the general public with hints for preventive action (reduction at the source).
The TUK is responsible as an active partner for the compilation of data and information for the platform.

Information and demonstration center

 An information and demonstration center is designed and built at the Bliesen wastewater treatment plant in Saarland for the citizens in the Greater Region. At the information and demonstration center the public and experts shall be informed about the basic topic, processes and technologies and prevention measures in a target group oriented way.
A mobile test facility for the comparison of additive technologies for the elimination of micropollutants is to be set up and operated at the Bliesen wastewater treatment plant. Common but in the GR still less tested processes and new innovative processes are investigated.

Material flow modeling as a tool for resource efficiency

A balance model of a water body and a wastewater treatment plant shall be coupled and applied to the example of the reference area Blies and the wastewater treatment plant Bliesen. With the coupled model, the substance inputs from the municipal wastewater treatment plant and the concentration of the substances in the water body can be mapped on the basis of the discharge pattern. The effect of further treatment stages on water pollution can thus be investigated and evaluated in a differentiated manner. The investigations are intended to provide the basis for medium and long-term decisions on the necessary expansion of municipal wastewater treatment plants with advanced treatment stages for the elimination of trace substances and phosphorus.
The TUK is responsible for the further development of the water model as an active partner.

Demonstration plant

A mobile pilot plant for testing available process technologies is to be realized at the Bliesen wastewater treatment plant. The aim here is to optimize the processes and process combinations with regard to purification performance and cost efficiency. Known and already industrially tested processes as well as a newly developed soil filter with a special substrate will be tested. The soil filter is suitable for small and medium-sized wastewater treatment plants.