And yet the World Toilet Day established by the UN on November 19 aims to remind that countless people on the planet do not have this common convenience for us.
Mia Bucher, dpa
Editor: Iosifina Tsagalidou
Admittedly, the word “sewage” does not evoke positive associations, most people think of a dirty mixture in the sewage system.
Evolution has made us take for granted the disappearance of our excretions underground through the drain.
And yet the World Toilet Day established by the UN on November 19 aims to remind that countless people on the planet do not have this common convenience for us.
On the other hand, the waste water we create when going to the toilet, washing our clothes or taking a shower can be used in various ways.
Four examples prove it.
All over the world companies are trying to prove that toilet water can be drinkable and quite enjoyable.
Brewerz from Singapore has been brewing beer from treated sewage since 2018 in collaboration with the national water authority.
This year, those who wish can for the first time purchase the company’s craft beer from supermarkets.
According to the company, the beer has aromas of honey and roasting.
A similar venture by the hydrotechnology company Xylem in North Rhine-Westphalia produced around 400 liters of beer from treated sewage to set an example for its reuse in times of water shortage. However, the preparation was not made available for sale.
When we shower or do laundry, the water going down the drains is often still hot. This heat can be used to heat a house or even an entire district. According to the Federal Statistics Service, one person per household uses an average of 128 liters of drinking water every day – quite a lot.
In the Austrian suburb of Eigen, Salzburg, since the beginning of the year 99 apartments have been supplied with energy with the help of this technology.
The management of treated wastewater as a source of energy
Wastewater has an energy reserve
According to the developers, about 30,000 liters of sewage is collected there every day in a holding tank. “There’s an awful lot of energy in this disgusting, stinking water,” says Dietmar Stampfer, CEO of Energy Consulting Austria, which designed and monitors this energy supply system.
The average temperature of the wastewater is about 20 degrees Celsius. A heat pump extracts the energy from the collected waste water, which is then fed back into the water and heating circuit.
According to Stampfer, 40% of the energy requirement is covered with this system, 35% through the heat of the gases expelled by man and the remaining percentage is covered by the use of compressed pellets. He is convinced that his system is not only sustainable, but especially in times of rising natural gas prices, particularly useful.
Researchers at the University of Bielefeld and the Jülich Research Center in North Rhine-Westphalia are investigating how treated wastewater can be reused to grow algae and then produce agricultural fertilizers. As the scientists report, a mass of algae is created through the processing. Algae absorb important for the same nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium, which are equally important components for fertilizer. When the process is complete, they can be a natural fertilizer.
Treated municipal wastewater can be utilized in a variety of ways
The European Commission wants to encourage EU member states to use treated sewage when irrigating agricultural land. For this purpose, minimum requirements have been set for the reuse of treated water. According to official figures, in the European Union 40 billion cubic meters of sewage are treated each year, but only 964 million cubic meters are reused. According to a representative of the German Ministry of the Environment, in a few areas this has become possible, as for example in the region of Lower Saxony.
A project is currently underway in the city of Schweinfurt in Bavaria that is investigating how wastewater can be used in the best possible way and distributed in rural and urban areas with smart technological means. This research is expected to last until the spring of 2024.
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I have worked as a journalist for over 10 years, and my work has been featured on many different news websites. I am also an author, and my work has been published in several books. I specialize in opinion writing, and I often write about current events and controversial topics. I am a very well-rounded writer, and I have a lot of experience in different areas of journalism. I am a very hard worker, and I am always willing to put in the extra effort to get the job done.
