Reusing treated wastewater at drinking water quality for PtX in Denmark

In a newly won feasibility study, Ramboll Water will assess the possibility of treating wastewater from Nakskov wastewater treatment plant to deliver water for industry use. A large part of the water will be used at a future Power-to-X plant in Denmark.

Rendering of future PtX plant in Nakskov by European Energy

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In a world facing water scarcity and with increasing regulations in water management, we are looking for alternate water sources – and this is where resource recovery and water reuse comes into the picture. In Denmark, Lolland Municipality has recently announced that local companies can no longer rely on having unlimited access to drinking water due to limited groundwater resources in the area.

To meet the rising demand of water, Lolland Utility plans to establish a water treatment plant in Nakskov – the biggest town in Lolland - to deliver up to 800,000 m3 water of drinking water quality from treated wastewater on an annual basis. A large part of the technical water will be reserved for an upcoming Power-to-X plant, supporting the development towards decarbonising the energy sector.

Ramboll will support Lolland Utility A/S by running a feasibility study for their new water treatment plant. Among other things, Ramboll will investigate the required water quality and screen the project to identify the potential for sustainability within the environmental, social, and economic aspects.

The benefits of using treated wastewater

Resource recovery from wastewater is one of the biggest current trends, as it contains large amounts of valuable nutrients and resources, water being one of them. In this specific case, reusing wastewater will have multiple benefits:

Preserving Lolland’s limited groundwater resources
Supporting the circular economy agenda
Reducing wastewater outlet in local environment and water bodies
Improving water quality

The Danish team will be collaborating with our Global Advanced Water Treatment (GAWT) team to gather best practice and find most beneficial solution for Lolland Utility.

On advanced water treatment, Gilbert Galjaard from GAWT says:

“We do not want to foul up our groundwater, surface water, rivers, or seas any further. So, we will figure out how advanced treatment can help us succeed in resource recovery, and water reuse – rather than discharging water into the rivers as waste, and thereby contaminating natural resources, we should treat it to make it suitable for drinking or harvest it for resources.”

The feasibility study will run in 2023.

Want to know more?

Anita Rye Ottosen
Senior Consultant
+45 51 61 74 56
René Hoeijmakers
Global Division Director
+31 6 83191061

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“Ramboll Water’s strategic focus areas fit my work experience as a glove“

Gilbert Galjaard is the newest addition to our Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology team. Gilbert has more than 30 years’ experience in a wide spectre of advanced water treatment technologies and was Chief Process Engineer in Nanostone prior to working in Ramboll. We are excited to see where Gilbert and his team can lead Ramboll Water.