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EDITORIAL
BUILDING OUR FUTURE
Pla et
#02
04
Facts
13
Solutions
24
Horizons
36
Views
47
Visions
Stateside PPP New Deal ]Electronic waste
stepping up sorting ]Wastewater setting new
standards in filtration ]Access to drinking
water a cholera-free future ]
EMD Millipore transforms used methanol into
a raw material ]Montluçon turns to an energy
performance contract to save money ]
Saudi Arabia rises to the water challenge ]
Portfolio: A new look at Detroit, photo essay
by Chris Maluszynski ]Portrait: Ibrahim
Mayaki, a vision for Africa ]
Industry: HPD evaporation and crystallization
process ]Asteralis : decommisioning
potentially hazardous sites ]BioData on green
energy sources ]Neswatch: mining industry
revamps its image. Illegal traffic in e-waste ]
] Every day, water, waste management and
energy services help to more effectively
treat pollution and preserve resources while
optimizing production and improving quality
of life. They are the services that are building
our future.
Successfully building our future means
turning waste produced by one activity into raw
materials for others. For example, a wastewater
treatment plant in the US state of Connecticut
has been reusing recycled methanol from an
industrial site in Massachusetts for several
months now.
It also means cutting down on
excessive consumption to make the most of
the energy transition. In France, a city of 40,000
has decided to tackle its energy bill head on. As
a result, the municipality has lowered energy
consumption by more than 20% annually,
reduced its green-house gas emissions and
developed alternative energy solutions.
We are also building our future
by developing and rolling out water cycle
management solutions to help the Saudi
authorities meet the country’s needs—for the
population, industry and agriculture—without
increasing water stress and at an affordable
price.
Building our future means being
ready to decommission potentially hazardous
sites, particularly nuclear power plants as they
near the end of their life cycle. It also means
capitalizing on our renowned expertise in
water treatment to help the mining and oil &
gas industries responsibly manage this scarce
resource.
This new issue of Planet gives you a
closer look at the people and initiatives that are
building our future. We hope you will enjoy it. ]
The Planet Team
For an even more in-depth experience, try the smartphone extension to
the magazine by scanning the QR codes as you read along.
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
3
FACTS
]Warming to wastewater
Stateside PPP
New Deal
provide major sources of green energy that
countries around the Mediterranean are
exploring with increasing interest. Algeria,
for instance, aims to produce as much
electricity from renewable sources by 2020
as it obtains from natural gas today. Morocco
is building the world’s largest concentrated
solar power (CSP) plant. Tunisia has
turned to photovoltaics and wind in a bid
to quadruple its power generation capacity
by 2050. This dynamic growth could lead to
the creation of a huge Mediterranean “ring”
of electricity production, spurring exports
between the South and the North. The
European Union could eventually import
up to 20% of electricity produced using
renewables from countries in North Africa.
Work is ongoing to determine the feasibility
of the project in line with the Mediterranean
Grid Master Plan for 2020–2030, drawn up
by MedGrid. ]
www.medgrid-psm.com
©Veolia photo library - Rodolphe Escher
How do you upgrade your infrastructure, create 445
jobs and retain ownership of facilities without adversely
affecting the municipal budget? The city of Rialto and
Rialto Water Services (RWS) in southern California have
done just that in signing an extremely innovative 30-year
public-private partnership contract—something rarely
seen in the United States. The city chose Veolia Water
North America, which has been operating the Rialto
wastewater collection system and treatment plant for the
past nine years. The partnership’s “blue growth” strategy
combines sustainable water management with support
for economic and social development. Similar approaches
could now be adopted in other cities facing the problem
of aging infrastructure. ]
]Methane hydrates
could be the next key
development in the
energy industry but their
4 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
NORTH AFRICA VAST SOLAR AND WIND
PROJECT]The desert sun and coastal wind
Turning a treatment plant
into a source of natural
resources: this is a challenge
that the Ginestous-Garonne
treatment plant in Toulouse,
France, has successfully
overcome with the Energido
process, which uses wastewater to generate energy.
Now in use at the site, Veolia
Water’s technology has
made it possible to retrieve
the heat from treated wastewater to warm 15,000 square
meters of space in one of
the facility’s buildings. This
translates to substantial consumption decreases: 65,000
kWh and 20,000 cubic
meters of drinking water
are saved each year, and 34
metric tons of CO2 emissions
are avoided annually. ]
© Veolia Water North America
]]]]
real potential has yet to
be confirmed: although
estimated volumes are
close to 1.2 trillion cubic
meters (more than
reserves of gas, oil and
coal combined), extracting
these unconventional
hydrocarbons trapped in ice
crystals is still difficult and
dangerous for operators and
the environment. ]
31%
The drop in
the price of natural gas in
the United States in 2012.
WORLWIDE CIRCULAR ECONOMY COULD
GENERATE SAVINGS ]According to a
report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation,
consumer goods firms could save up to
$700 billion by incorporating recycling
into their business models. The report also
gives an example of an additional profit of
up to $2 per hectoliter of beer that could be
created in Brazil by selling brewers’ spent
grains to farmers in the fish and livestock
sectors. The UK could also generate
an income stream of over $2 billion by
collecting and processing food waste to
generate biogas and return nutrients to
the soil. ]
www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/business/reports
WATER WEAVING ]
The use of fabric to capture water from
the air is an age-old technique used in
desert and mountain regions that has
been boosted by the development of a
more efficient material. Covered in a layer
of polymer, the new fabric is similar to
a sponge and can trap up to 3.4 liters of
water vapor as the temperature cools, then
release the water as the temperature rises.
In addition to meeting demand for drinking
water, the experimental collection system
could also irrigate crops if it proves viable
on a larger scale. ]
©Fancy
FRANCE THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
] Sustainable growth is on the horizon for Rougeline tomatoes in France’s Aquitaine region. Committed to developing their business and making
it more competitive, the Paysans de Rougeline—a group of 159 farmers who grow the majority of tomatoes produced in the southern half of France
(58,000 metric tons a year)—will benefit from eight hectares of greenhouses heated with thermal energy from a landfill for non-hazardous waste,
equipped with a biogas production system. The heat given off during the process of converting the gas to electricity will be used to warm the
greenhouses. Thanks to Veolia Environmental Services, which operates the facility, between 3,000 and 4,000 metric tons of tomatoes will gently ripen
in these new surroundings starting in 2014, ensuring long-term health and local jobs for the sector. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
5
FACTS
]To assess air quality in
homes, a French start-up has
launched Daily Diag: a range
of air-quality testing kits
based on tools used in industry. The product is clearly in
tune with the times and it is
all the more welcome given
that France—a country with
a lot of ground to make up in
controlling air pollution—is
only just beginning to introduce initial measures in the
field. Could this be the first
sign of a growth market? ]
Electronic waste
Stepping up sorting
Our everyday lives are filled with devices like household appliances, computer hardware and all manner of screens... Yet these same devices also produce
a growing amount of electrical and electronic waste.
This is an issue that has led to a campaign for a better approach to recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). For example, a French subsidiary of Veolia
Environmental Services, Triade Electronique, is seeking to scale up its recycling capability, especially for flat
screens. A new industrial sorting process will make it possible to process a flat screen in just five minutes, which is
a huge improvement on the current time of 30 minutes.
The initiative is a response to measures adopted by the
European Parliament in 2012 to enforce stricter laws on
WEEE: 85% of waste from electrical and electronic equipment sold in France in the past three years will need to
be collected by 2019. European deputies are also aiming
to clamp down on illegal exports through tighter border
controls, paving the way for an increase in the amount
of waste to be processed within the EU. ]
]Small steps forward
for Europe According
to a study by Europen,
European packaging
waste management is
increasingly resource
efficient: the amount of
packaging recycled rose
from 55% in 2005 to 63% in
2010. The Voice of Industry
for Packaging and the
Environment nonetheless
notes an imbalance between
the drop in packaging
volumes in the EU-15 and
consumption in countries
new to the EU, which
increased from 79 kilograms
to 84 kilograms per capita
between 2005 and 2010. The
net effect across the EU-27
was a reduction from 160 kg
in 2005 to 157 kg in 2010. ]
6%
The reduction
in energy use in Europe
between 2008 and 2011.
]Empty vessels…
©Veolia photo library - Salah Benacer
]]]]
6 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
More than 1,300 vessels
at the end of their active
life were scrapped in 2012,
according to UK shipbroker
Clarksons. That is between
20% and 30% more than in
2011. For the 11 million metric tons of steel dismantled,
94% of the work was done
in Asia, in countries where
vessel-demolition methods
still involve practices
that have a controversial
impact on health and the
environment. ]
PUBLIC CAMPAIGN FIX IT FIRST!
]In his State of the Union speech in
February, President Obama underscored
the urgent need to repair the country’s
major infrastructure. This is excellent
news, according to the Water Environment
Federation and the National Association
of Clean Water Agencies, who see the
Fix It First program as an opportunity to
refocus environmental concerns on water
issues. The two bodies have highlighted
the importance of ensuring the ongoing
performance of water and wastewater
facilities in the face of extreme weather
and climate events. According to a study
by the American Water Works Association,
the cost of restoring and expanding this
infrastructure—most of which is reaching
the end of its useful life—could top $1
trillion by 2035. ]
$1 trillion
The amount of money that India is willing
to invest over a five-year period to upgrade
and develop its infrastructure, with a
focus on water supply, waste treatment,
transportation, renewable energy and
sustainable development.
FOOD PRODUCTION WORLDWIDE
WASTE ]Between 30% and 50% of the four
billion metric tons of food produced on
the planet is lost before reaching a human
stomach, according to a report published
by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
(IME) in the UK. These figures confirm
findings by the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), which
estimated losses at 1.3 billion metric tons
in 2011. There are many reasons for this
waste and they span the entire chain of
food production. As a result of underlying
causes such as strict sell-by dates,
promotional offers, demand for perfect
presentation, doubts over farming practices
and inappropriate storage, food wastage is
a growing problem that affects not just the
food eaten but also the resources involved
to produce that food. 550 billion cubic
meters of water are wasted globally every
year growing crops that never reach the
consumer. ]
©Kacper Kowalski - Aeromedia.pl /OTV
POLAND A FRESH START FOR CLEAN WATER ] Major upgrade and extension work has made the Czajka plant in Warsaw, which serves 2.1 million
population equivalents, the largest wastewater treatment facility in Poland. The original plant opened in 1991 and had a daily capacity of up to
200,000 cubic meters. However, it was no longer able to meet the growing needs of the capital and its two million people; nor could it comply with
European environmental standards. The facility is now equipped with an “active sludge” process—able to treat up to 515,000 cubic meters a day—and
boasts the latest in energy-saving, thermal-treatment and chemical-deodorization technology. Work was carried out by a consortium comprising
Vinci Construction, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies and German company WTE. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
7
FACTS
]Microbial
Wastewater
Setting new standards
in filtration
Rising to the challenge of removing emerging pollutants
and endocrine disruptors like pharmaceutical waste,
cosmetics and pesticides is no mean feat. Some of these
chemicals are listed as priority substances under the
European Water Framework Directive, and all of them are
thought to have harmful effects on the hormone systems
of humans and animals. Actiflo Carb® is a new process
that successfully removed 75% of pharmaceuticals from
wastewater during tests on an industrial scale by using
an activated carbon adsorption* process. Thanks to this
technique it scored high on its ability to reduce phosphorus
concentrations to well below regulatory limits. The process
is still in the pilot phase, but it is already set to become
a benchmark solution for removing micropollutants
as part of drinking water treatment. In the interim, the
process continues to be put through its paces around the
world: following initiatives in France, Switzerland and
the United States (trials conducted by Veolia Water North
America, its subsidiary Kruger Inc. and the Milwaukee
Metropolitan Sewerage District), Germany is now putting
the technology’s filtration capabilities to the test. ]
FRANCE COLLECTION VEHICLES GO
QUIETLY ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS ]There’s
no need to cause a stir to bring a good idea
to market! That is something that French
company E3Lift has clearly understood
in marketing its extremely quiet electric
bin lift (under 45 dB) to collect household
waste and ensure the peace of mind of local
residents. This alternative technology,
which has already been adopted by several
French municipalities, is also more energyefficient than hydraulic lifting systems.
It is sure to win quiet victories in other
European countries as well! ]
©Veolia photo library - Justin Sutcliffe/Polaris/Interlinks Image
50 YEARS
The time it took to develop a
new method of recycling and
remediating red mud. The
method was developed by
Canadian company Orbite
Aluminae, which signed a
worldwide collaborative
agreement with Veolia
Environmental Services
to treat and recycle this
toxic effluent generated by
industrial aluminum oxide
production.
]Full speed ahead!
*In this case, the adhesion of polluting organic matter to a solid surface.
8 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
stimulation
Desert soil microbes
discovered by researchers
in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) could help
halt desertification and
boost agriculture in arid
regions. These strains of
rhizobia—soil bacteria that
fix nitrogen when they have
found a suitable habitat
inside root nodules—are
extremely salt- and
drought-tolerant. This could
be a real boon to improving
plant productivity in
extreme environments. ]
©Roger Straessle/VWS photo library
]]]]
Australia has benefited from
an economic boom since
2008, due to the proximity
of emerging countries like
China and India and their
demand for raw materials.
The resulting rise in exports
has pushed the oil & gas
industry to increase production from non-conventional
gas sources, like coal seam
gas, which is then used to
produce LNG. Queensland
Curtis LNG, an international
project run by oil giant
QGC, is focusing on this
new source. The operations
require large quantities of
water, which must be treated
once they reach surface level
to allow for reuse in local
agricultural or industrial
applications. QGC has
chosen Veolia Water to treat
up to 200,000 cubic meters
of water produced by 6,000
wells each day. ]
SMES REVEAL GROWING
INTEREST IN RENEWABLES ]According
to a study by electricity and gas supplier
Opus Energy, 15% of SME business leaders
have already equipped their premises with
facilities to generate renewable energy. This
figure is expected to increase by 30% in the
next five years. The main benefits stated by
businesses were generation of additional
income, self-sufficient supply of energy and
helping to tackle climate change. ]
EU CREATING A “RECYCLING SOCIETY”
]According to Friends of the Earth,
Europe still landfills or incinerates 60%
of its municipal waste. The network of
environmental organizations believes there
is an urgent need to optimize collection
of materials that can be reused, to pursue
massive investment in recycling and to
impose tighter controls on burial and
incineration. ]
www.foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/publications/
foee_report_-_less_is_more_0.pdf
©Veolia photo library - Stephane Harter/VU Agency
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PLANS TO SHRINK ITS CARBON FOOTPRINT ] More than 6,000 civil servants and contractual employees, 736 Members
of the European Parliament and thousands of assistants spread out over 20 buildings in three cities—Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg—for a total
surface area of one million square meters… These figures give some measure of the sheer size and decentralized nature of the world’s largest democratic
assembly, whose energy consumption is far from negligible. The EP has thus committed to ambitious targets: it aims to shrink its carbon footprint 30%
by 2020 (compared with 2006 figures) and reduce CO2 emissions by 28,000 metric tons in six years (2012-2017). On the strength of its expertise in energy
efficiency, leading-edge technologies, user awareness campaigns and more, Dalkia has been selected to help the EP rise to the challenge. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
9
FACTS
]Gray matter for
raw materials
Brussels launched the
European Innovation
Partnership (EIP) on Raw
Materials in February.
The goal of this major
workshop is to encourage
governments, industry
and NGOs to coordinate
research and investment to
develop Europe’s potential
to access, operate and
recycle strategic materials
like rare earths, along with
other materials such as
cotton, wood and natural
rubber. ]
Access to drinking water
A cholera-free future
As part of the campaign to combat a disease that claims
more than 100,000 lives each year, the Global Alliance
Against Cholera (GAAC) promotes an approach that
combines both preventive and sustainable initiatives.
Alliance members include experts and epidemiologists
from all over the world. Together, they have developed
an operational methodology that includes scientific
research, safe access to drinking water, effective sanitation
and increasing hygiene awareness among people most
at risk. At Biovision, theWorld Life Sciences Forum, held
in March, GAAC presented a program that it is currently
testing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the
support of the Veolia Environment Foundation. ]
$20 BILLION
]Wastewater: a promising
market
$13.9 BILLION
Global markets for
wastewater recycling
and reuse technologies
increased from nearly
$6.7 billion to $9.5 billion
between 2009 and 2012,
according to market
research by Global
Information, Inc. World
markets are expected to
expand more rapidly as
global economies continue
to recover from the global
downturn, achieving a
five-year combined annual
growth rate (CAGR)
of 19.7% between 2012
and 2017. ]
The amount invested in smart-grid technologies in 2012.
This represents an increase of 7% over the previous year, with investment set to double by 2018.
10 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
WIND POWER IN EUROPE OFFSHORE
STILL ON THE HORIZON ]After record
growth in Europe, offshore wind energy
experienced a slowdown in 2012:
According to the European Wind Energy
Association, offshore wind energy
capacity currently totals 4,995 MW, which
is 1,000 MW short of the targets set by EU
member states as part of the climate and
energy package. Yet the industry has real
advantages that cannot be ignored, even
during this time of economic recession.
One reason to continue expanding its
share of the European energy mix is
that offshore wind offers greater energy
potential than its onshore counterpart;
another is the prospect of floating wind
turbines, which would have the huge
advantage of unfettering the technology
from restrictions related to seabed depths.
As a result, total offshore wind energy
capacity is expected to surpass that of
onshore by 2035. ]
©OEM Images
The annual increase in
investment in smart cities
between today and 2020,
according to a report
by Pike Research. The
estimate takes into account
an exponential increase
in the need for smart
infrastructure in cities with
growing populations.
©Veolia Environnement Foundation
]]]]
SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION TEN
TECHNOLOGIES FOR OUR FUTURE ]
Energy, environment and healthcare are
the key fields in which 10 technologies
identified by the Global Agenda Council
at the World Economic Forum could
revolutionize our daily lives in the
not-too-distant future. New advances
in biomimetics promise “self-healing”
materials. 3D printers will give us tiny
production lines in our homes, able to
manufacture complex objects. Forwardosmosis technology is more energy
efficient than methods currently used
in desalination and could provide a
solution to the growing problem of water
scarcity. Photosynthetic bacteria could
turn the CO2 given off by industry into
fuel. Modern genomic techniques could
help target the proteins best able to
tackle the problems of malnutrition and
obesity. And, last but not least, welcome
to the world of “Nuclear 2.0” and fourthgeneration reactors able to use spent
uranium as a fuel source, drastically
reducing issues raised by storage and
half-life. ]
©M.Ormestad-Kahikai-Tara-Oceans
TARA EXPEDITION AN ONGOING VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
] The Tara Oceans expedition provided unprecedented scope for research by bringing back thousands of tons of plankton from its
scientific voyage between 2010 and 2012. Now the Oceanomics program is set to explore the genomes of these still largely unknown
ecosystems. The study of these microorganisms by research facilities in France and around the world will help build a database that
could lead to promising applications in biofuel, pharmaceuticals and monitoring aquatic environments. The Oceanomics project is a
groundbreaking initiative in terms of the goals and resources employed. As part of the project, Veolia Environnement research teams
will work alongside other industrial partners to help draw up a legal framework for bioprospecting plankton. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
11
Advertisement
th
9 International
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on Biofilm
Reactors
A unique technical
tour to SIAAP-Acheres
wastewater treatment
plant, the largest
WWTP plant in Europe.
This conference organized by Veolia Water and International
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and biofilm researchers to discuss and exchange on
new developments within research, development, design,
and application of biofilm reactors and to assess the impact
of biofilms on natural and engineered processes in water
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Registration, program
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VEOLIA PICTURE LIBRARY - LE SQUARE/F. BENAUSSE/A. DESVAUX/
W. CROZES, CLAUDE CIEUTAT/OTV - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
www.
iwabiofilm
2013.com
Paris, May 28-31, 2013
Palais des Congrès
d’Issy-les Moulineaux
France
A French historic
venue close to Paris.
120
experts expected
solutions
]In Bedford, Massachusetts (US), EMD Millipore, a Merck
subsidiary that consumes large quantities of methanol to produce
microfiltration membranes, recycles its used methanol. Typically
considered hazardous waste, the used methanol from this plant
is a veritable resource: it is used to reduce nitrogen levels in
wastewater. ]Montluçon (France) has signed an energy performance
contract to improve the energy efficiency of its municipal buildings
as part of a regional sustainable development plan. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
13
SOLUTIONS EMD MILLIPORE
Methanol gets a makeover
Quiet Revolutionary
BY WILLIAM MENGEBIER
]In Bedford, the entire R&D team
at Merck KGaA subsidiary EMD
Millipore worked on turning
hazardous waste—used methanol—
into a resource. ]
Visitors to Bedford, Massachusetts,
just north of Boston, are alerted that
there may be more to the small, quiet
community than meets the eye when
they pass signs welcoming them to the
“home of the first flag.” The Bedford
Flag, believed to be the country’s oldest
]
14 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
surviving battle banner, was carried by
colonial Minutemen as they marched a
few miles up the road to take part in the
battle of Concord, site of “the shot heard
around the world” at the outset of the
American Revolutionary War.
Ideas for changing the way the world
works can still be found in Bedford,
including when it comes to protecting
the environment. The battles waged
today tend to be quieter and are less
about musket balls than they are about
persistence and pragmatism…and one
man’s passion for finding innovative
ideas to protect the environment.
At Bedford’s EMD Millipore R&D facility,
researchers are playing a vital role in the
fight to change the way we think about
cancer. A division of Merck KGaA of
Darmstadt, Germany, EMD Millipore
conducts pilot-scale manufacturing of
microfiltration membranes used for a
variety of special purposes, including
pharmaceutical applications, at the
Bedford site. The membranes’ tiny pores,
measuring in the 0.2 to 0.9 micron range,
filter contaminants to achieve ultra-pure
quality of samples prior to analysis.
Dealing with the leftovers One of 540
employees on the 30-acre site,
environmental engineer Bobby Young
keeps close track of incoming raw
materials and outgoing products and
waste. The highest volume substance
received by the plant is methanol,
used to harden the thin layers of flat
plastic sheeting—known as “roll stock
membrane”—into solid filter. Most of
the used methanol, known as “regulated
recyclable material,”1 is refined and
reclaimed for reuse on-site. However, the
]]]]
STEVE GARCIA,
] Sales Director,
Veolia Environmental
Services North
America ]
©Veolia Photo library - Keiko Hiromi / Polaris /Interlinks Image
BOBBY YOUNG,
] Environmental Health
and Safety Engineer at
EMD Millipore in Bedford,
Massachusetts ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
15
]]]]
process still generates large quantities
of excess methanol, which must be
disposed of as hazardous waste due to the
compound’s flammability and toxicity.
Under the strict US laws that govern
the handling and disposal of hazardous
waste, the plant’s used methanol
was being trucked hundreds of miles
to special facilities where it could
be burned as fuel. Limits on EMD
Millipore’s authorized on-site storage
capacity for used methanol required
waste management services provider,
Veolia Environmental Services, to make
multiple trips to the site each week to
remove the waste.
“In addition to being a costly, not very
satisfactory process for our client,
the situation presented us with a
difficult service challenge,” says Veolia
Environmental Services sales manager
Steve Garcia. “Whenever the small
underground storage tanks would fill
up, including at night or on weekends,
they needed to be emptied immediately
to allow production to continue. One of
the many difficulties we had to overcome
was ensuring waste truck availability for
an unpredictable schedule.”
Passionate ideals Finding a more
environmentally sustainable solution for
the used methanol was also very much
on the mind of Bobby Young. Growing
up in the South Carolina countryside—
©Veolia Photo library - Keiko Hiromi / Polaris /Interlinks Image
SOLUTIONS EMD MILLIPORE
The Bedford flag (second from top) was carried
by the Minutemen who went to fight in the
battle of Concord at the beginning of the
Revolutionary War. ]
where land and water were a source
of both recreation and food—fostered
an abiding respect for nature in this
engineer. “Finding innovative ways to
protect the environment is something
of a personal passion,” smiles the
grandfather and still avid fisherman.
“Sure, there were other possible uses
for the excess methanol, like using it in
windshield wiper fluid,” he shrugs, “but
that’s not really removing it from the
environment.”
The breakthrough idea came to Bobby at
ABOUT EMD MILLIPORE
]EMD Millipore is the life science division of Merck KGaA of Germany and offers a
broad range of innovative, performance products, services and business relationships
that underpin its customers’ successes in research, development and production of
biotech and pharmaceutical drug therapies. Through dedicated collaboration on new
scientific and engineering insights, and as one of the top three R&D investors in the life
science tools industry, EMD Millipore serves as a strategic partner to customers and
helps advance the promise of life science. Headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, the
division has around 10,000 employees, operations in 67 countries and 2011 revenues of
€2.4 billion. EMD Millipore is known as Merck Millipore outside of the US and Canada.]
16 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
a conference on wastewater treatment
in Baltimore, where topics included the
use of industrial waste products as raw
materials in other industrial processes.
One example was substances that could
be used in sewage treatment plants
to reduce nitrogen in wastewater...
including methanol.
Excited by the idea that the Bedford
plant’s recycled methanol could help
protect the environment instead of being
disposed of as a waste, Bobby contacted
Veolia Environmental Services to discuss
possible solutions.
Water works “We didn’t have to look far
from home for the answer,” says Steve
Garcia. “In a brainstorming session
with our colleagues at Veolia Water,
they identified one of their customers,
the city of Danbury, Connecticut,
as a potential user for the reclaimed
methanol.”
The Danbury biological wastewater
treatment plant was using expensive
virgin methanol in the “denitrification”
process, in which nitrogen is removed
from the wastewater. “Too much
nitrogen creates algae blooms,” explains
Bobby Young. “Not good for the fish.”
The methanol acts as a catalyst, serving
as a carbon food source for bacteria that
convert the nitrates and nitrites into
nitrogen gas. “Green gas2,” adds Bobby.
While a good idea for protecting the
environment can take hold in a flash,
getting a new process approved by
state and local officials is quite another
story. In addition to the extensive testing
conducted by Veolia Water specialists
(see opposite), it took two years of
testing, applications, meetings and
2- Biogas is also known as “green gas” because it is a
renewable energy produced today using organic matter,
while natural gas is a fossil fuel produced by the fermentation of organic matter over millions of years. Biogas
is considered carbon neutral because its emissions are
absorbed by plants at the same rate they are produced
]]]]
©Charles M. Hopkins /Veolia Environmental Services
Thanks to the methanol recycling scheme, EMD Millipore saves $250,000 a year and the city of Danbury pays
15-33% less for its methanol. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
17
SOLUTIONS EMD MILLIPORE
THE UPHILL BATTLE FOR USED METHANOL
Great idea…not so fast! ] The proposal to reuse EMD Millipore’s excess methanol1
in wastewater treatment would not only save money, it presented obvious benefits
for the environment: instead of being considered a hazardous waste, destined for
disposal, the reclaimed methanol would become a raw material, playing a vital role
in a process that results in clear, clean water. “It was practically a ‘no-brainer’,” says
Bobby Young. Yet, when it came to gaining approval for the change, neither the
financial savings nor the positive benefits for lakes and streams were the primary
consideration. Treatment of solid and hazardous wastes in the US is governed by
the lengthy Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, frequently referred to by
its acronym, RCRA. Many of the individual 50 states are authorized to administer
the federal statute within their borders, frequently adding their own regulations.
The non-recycled methanol at EMD Millipore was subject to a permit issued by
the State of Massachusetts authorizing its transportation and disposal off-site.
Removing the material from coverage under RCRA’s meticulous hazardous waste
handling and treatment provisions and transferring it to Danbury not only meant
demonstrating the material’s efficiency and safety says Steve Garcia, “It also meant
working with regulators in a new state, Connecticut, to ensure their understanding
of our entire process.”
]]]]
presentations to convince all parties
the solution was safe (see inset box). As
both the service provider and the client
recall , the process demanded intense
coordination. “I’m not sure exactly
how long it went on,” says Steve to
Bobby. “All I know is that it seems like
for an awfully long time, every morning
started with a 7:30 phone call from you
asking me, ‘So where are we today?’”
Winning combination Permission finally
RECYCLING METHANOL
Don’t hurt the bugs ] Use of the recycled methanol1 to help clean wastewater
required a specific type of wastewater treatment facility, one that used biological
treatment. In bio-treatment plants, bacteria, or “bugs,” feed on contaminants
present in the wastewater. At the Danbury plant, methanol is added to the
wastewater to provide favorable conditions that help the microorganisms reduce
nitrate and nitrite compounds. “Substituting recycled methanol for virgin
methanol required extensive feasibility testing,” says Veolia Water area manager,
John Oatley. “We needed to show that the EMD Millipore material would work
effectively and not interfere with the existing process or introduce any new
contaminants.” Kumar Upendakumar, an environmental engineer with Veolia
Water’s technical department flew in from Indianapolis to run the testing, setting
up aquariums to conduct side-by-side bacterial experiments and using different
dosages to replicate what would happen when the material was used in the plant.
“Based on the very positive lab results, we were eventually able to introduce the
recycled material at the plant, initially keeping it in separate tanks and alternating
it every other day with the virgin material to measure and compare the results,”
says Oatley. “Once we were satisfied that there was no difference, the recycled
material was blended with the virgin methanol. For an environmentally conscious
community like Danbury, it is a point of pride to support a more sustainable
process. Of course, they are happy to be saving money too!”
granted, the first trial shipment of
EMD Millipore’s methanol arrived
in Danbury in August 2011, and the
material has since been fully integrated
into the wastewater treatment plant’s
processes. The accomplishment
provides substantial benefits for all
involved: instead of paying to dispose of
its used methanol as hazardous waste,
EMD Millipore saves the equivalent
of about €0.10 per liter of regulated
recyclable material, or about €200,000
annually; Danbury, meanwhile, saves
15–33% of the costs of purchasing
virgin methanol, a petroleum product
subject to high price volatility. For both
Veolia Environmental Services and
Veolia Water, in addition to delivering
added value for their respective clients,
there is the satisfaction, shared by all, of
finding a more sustainable solution for
the environment.
Busy with a new project to find uses for
the non-hazardous plastic remnants
left over from the plant’s cutting
processes, Bobby offers the last word
on the recycled methanol project: “It’s
good for the fish.” ]
1- The correct legal classification is “regulated recyclable material.” In the context of this article and to facilitate readability, other terms used to refer to the material include “used,” “excess,”
“recycled,” “reclaimed,” or “EMD Millipore’s methanol.”
18 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
SOLUTIONS MONTLUÇON
Regional development policies all over the world now
incorporate energy savings targets. The challenge for
local stakeholders lies in achieving long-term energy
performance. In France, the city of Montluçon has
done just that by cutting its energy bill by 21.5% in just
two years. Read on to find out more.
ENERGY PERFORMANCE
IN THE HEART OF FRANCE
BY PATRICIA COIGNARD. PHOTOS: RODOLPHE ESCHER FOR VEOLIA PHOTO LIBRARY
M
ontluçon has always succeeded
in drawing on its geographical
position as the gateway to the
Auvergne region, a hub for travel
and trade, the heart of France and a crossroads
on the route between central Europe and the
Atlantic coast. The tire industry (Dunlop) was
one of the first pioneers in the area, followed
by chemicals, electronics, new technologies
and environmental services. To facilitate and
simplify regional partnerships, Montluçon and
neighboring municipalities grouped together
in 2011 to form a conurbation community. That
community now comprises 10 municipalities
and over 75,000 people—40,000 of whom live in
Montluçon—all working to overcome an array
of challenges, including the transition towards
new energy solutions.
As a result of economic and social development,
Montluçon’s urban fabric has evolved. It is now
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
19
]]]]
SOLUTIONS MONTLUÇON
]]]]
dotted with business parks, residential areas,
public buildings, amenities and sports facilities.
Naturally, elected representatives quickly found
themselves looking to achieve energy savings for
municipal buildings, especially with energy bills
accounting for an average of between 2% and 5%
of the local authority’s operating budget.
Daniel Dugléry, Montluçon’s mayor and chairman
of the conurbation community, still remembers
the lay of the land in 2010: “Public real-estate
assets—representing nearly 100 buildings—were
in a poor state of repair, aging, and, in some cases,
obsolete. Insulation everywhere was failing and
heating systems were no longer anywhere near
suited to modern-day requirements.” The situation
clearly demanded urgent attention, in a region that
has one of France’s highest heating requirements:
213 days a year! As Pascal Rullion—who oversees
technical building services for the city council—
explains, the teams involved had to be resourceful:
“We had learned to live with the energy
shortcomings of the older buildings. Based on
empirical data, our teams did their best to manage
energy use and provide the services required.”
Immediate action When the heating
system maintenance contract for municipal and
conurbation buildings came to an end in December
2009, the community had the opportunity to start
from scratch and adopt a fresh approach to energy
management for 96 public sites. But to get there,
authorities would have to approve an ambitious
solution... The mayor quickly saw the potential
offered by energy performance contracts (EPC).
“This system gave us the means to achieve longterm energy efficiency. It allowed us to set up a
virtuous circle while taking immediate action
across a wide range of buildings. In less than a year,
we successfully carried out major renovation work
that would have taken 15 to 20 years if we had
been tackling the problem alone. It also gave us the
chance to draw up a comprehensive policy for the
entire region, incorporating new energy sources
20 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
like solar and wood, subsequently applied to each
building in line with its specifications.”
Mr. Dugléry willingly admits that “it was
bit of a rocky journey, especially since we were
the first to sign this sort of contract in the region,”
yet he is quick to add that “there was no risk
involved for the municipality or the conurbation
community.” Dalkia has the expertise needed
for complex projects like this one, including the
ability to make commitments that the city could
not have made alone. Dalkia’s teams provided the
financial resources for all general contracting,
totaling some €1.8 million. In addition, the contract
was drawn up to include a target of an annual
17.5% reduction in energy use. The deciding factor
was Dalkia’s offer to provide not just a standard
solution but a series of tailored solutions adapted to
]This contract gave us the opportunity
to draw up a comprehensive policy for the
entire region, incorporating new energy
sources like solar and wood, subsequently
applied to each building in line with its
specifications. ]
DANIEL DUGLÉRY, CHAIRMAN OF THE CONURBATION
COMMUNITY AND MAYOR OF MONTLUÇON
the specific requirements of each public building.
This guaranteed the flexibility to incorporate new
buildings over the duration of the contract, such
as the Museum of Popular Music and De La Loue
Stadium in 2012. The EPC has been presented as a
“source of continuous improvement” and has won
the support of many local officials.
Making technology widely available “With
the performance contract, our region has taken
advantage of technological innovations like sensors
and automated systems. We would never have
opted for these kinds of solutions without Dalkia’s ]]]]
A poster
campaign
promoting
easy-to-adopt
green habits is
just one of the
community’s
awareness
initiatives. ]
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
SOLAR PANELS ATOP THE CENTRAL CAFETERIA
HEAT PUMP AT THE ATHANOR CULTURAL CENTER
AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
MEETING AT THE CULTURAL CENTER
Performance contracts have totally revamped the relationship
between private operators and local authorities, creating a win-win
situation. ]
ELECTRIC VEHICLE FEATURING A MEGA POSTER
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
21
SOLUTIONS MONTLUÇON
]]]]
contractual commitment to energy savings and
carbon reductions,” explains Mr. Ruillon.
In the four months leading up to the start
of the contract, on January 1, 2010, Dalkia fostered
close ties with the community’s technical services.
The goal was to draw up individual specifications
for each of the 96 public buildings, detailing
what the premises were used for, the number
of square meters, use times, methods of heating
and insulation for some 20 school complexes,
municipal facilities (Maisons des Associations,
Maison de la Petite Enfance, etc.), sports centers
and cultural attractions. Then, between May and
August 2010, nearly 180 improvement initiatives
were implemented by local specialist firms so
everything would be ready by September, when
classes and activities started back up. Some of
these improvements—all of which are managed
remotely (see interview)—include: 38 square
meters of solar panels on the terraced roof of
the central school cafeteria, condensing boilers
installed at the cultural center, 13 sites equipped
with heat pumps, 280 windows replaced (PVC,
double glazing) at a school complex, and last but
not least, the two biomass heating plants burning
wood pellets at the two schools.
In the first year (2010-2011), the initiative
achieved the 17.5% energy savings stipulated in the
contract. This period fostered “ongoing dialogue
that helped all those involved adapt to using the
different central management energy performance
indicators,” explains Mr. Rullion. “Local
authorities, technicians and Dalkia became a real
team, with a relationship based on trust. We talk
every week. A more formal meeting is held every
two months and a report is drawn up annually.”
The second year of this new approach to heating
(2012) gave even greater cause for satisfaction,
surpassing the contract target by 4%!
Committed residents The commitment of
the community’s residents to energy savings
22 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
has also contributed to these impressive results.
One of the specific features of the performance
contract is its focus on user habits: “Of the
minimum target of 17.5% energy savings each
year, over 3% must come from changes in the
behavior of end users across all age groups,”
explains Mr. Dugléry. The goal is to encourage
residents to adopt the right practices from the
outset in their homes, at school and at work.
“When we show people the benefits of their
active involvement on a daily basis (no more cold
public buildings, saving money for the city to
help their local community grow, etc.), we really
get their attention and generate an impressive
level of response,” adds the mayor.
“Megacational” Led by its mascot, “Mega”
(Montluçon Energie Gagnante), a dynamic
communications campaign has been put in place
complete with information booklets, posters,
magnets and more to explain how to better
manage energy consumption. In schools, for
instance, these educational campaigns remind
children of the benefits of turning off the light
when leaving the classroom, or of closing
windows and doors when the heating is on, for
instance. Residents are regularly informed of
work carried out and of the resulting performance
gains. However, there is still a lot of ground to
be covered in communications in 2013. Pascal
Rullion sees the situation clearly: “We have to
explain to people that the savings achieved in
2012 have ‘only’ served to offset the impact of a
sharp increase in the price of oil and electricity on
the public purse!”
The success of the energy performance
contract in Montluçon has led to a number of
similar agreements elsewhere. Five new contracts
of this type have been signed in the region for
public buildings—including the Aqualude water
park—large neighborhood of private homes. The
future looks bright! ]
KEY FIGURES
INTERVIEW
SOLUTIONS TAILORED TO REAL NEEDS
Fabien Boudet,
Dalkia France. Project Manager for the Montluçon EPC.
] How do the central and remote management aspects of the contract work?
We have made sensors and automated systems a central feature of
buildings. This technology can detect the slightest problem in terms of
heating, production of hot water and air conditioning. Our call center is
alerted and, if necessary, a technician is sent out. I access the full range
of information on the energy performance of buildings connected to the
system on a daily basis from a computer. I then use this data to provide
the city council with real-time updates.
] What are the main benefits of this remote management system?
It allows us to tailor the way we manage energy to meet specific needs,
in line with the operating hours and periods that facilities are in use. We
improve not only energy performance, but also response times, since
the system is operational 24/7. This is vital to the success of the energy
performance contract. The central management system gives us detailed
feedback that allows us to optimize the performance of each site and
work out why some sites still fall short of the 17.5% target stipulated in
the contract.
]EPC start date:
January 1, 2010
• Length: 10 years ]
]Contractual commitment to energy savings
of 17.5% a year:
• including 3% through changes in the
behavior of end users over a 10-year period;
• representing a reduction of 5,500
metric tons of CO2 emissions;
• equaling the CO2 absorption potential
of 6,000 hectares of forest (full-grown
trees). ]
]Overall savings for the city and the
conurbation community:
€117,000 per year ]
]180 energy optimization and renovation
initiatives for 96 buildings ]
]€1.8 million invested by Dalkia in
general contracting (fees spread over the
duration of the contract) ]
]Key energy-improvement work
scheduled for 2013:
• Replacement of the boiler in the
municipal greenhouse
• Installation of thermostats and
room sensors (40 already in operation)
in schools. ]
] How are the technical teams involved with the remote management
system?
The teams play a crucial role because the technicians analyze the data
collected and use it to make conclusions. Their experience in the field
(facilities management, client needs, etc.) complements the remote
management system perfectly. It’s more than just reading a screen. We
work with a dual network, making the best of both IT tools and human
capital. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
23
ILLUSTRATION: MARIETTE GUIGAL
©Veolia photo library - Fayez Nureldine/AFP
horizons
Saudi Arabia rises to the water challenge
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
25
HORIZONS SAUDI ARABIA THE QUEST FOR WATER IN THE OIL KINGDOM
In Riyadh, every drop counts... ]For Saudi Arabia,
the world’s leading oil producer, promoting efficient management of
water for the population as a whole will be a real challenge in the
years ahead. Home to 5.7 million people, the capital, Riyadh, is one of the
largest cities in the world, and its population is growing by 4% per year.
Faced with rapidly increasing demand for water in this arid country, the
Saudi monarchy has made managing this scarce resource and treating
wastewater a key priority. ]
BY CLARENCE RODRIGUEZ-VIDAL (RIYADH CORRESPONDENT).
S
aturday, February 23, 12:05 pm. The
muezzin in the King Fahd district, in
northern Riyadh, calls the faithful to
prayer. The week is only just beginning
and the city is gently stirring after the
weekend. It is time for the dhuhr, the
second prayer of the day. Men approach the mosque
in small groups. Abdullah A. Al Awah is one of them,
a man with a small stature and easy gait. With his
white thawb and his red and white checked kaffiyeh,
he proudly sports the traditional public attire of Saudi
men. His weathered, sun-tanned face makes him
seem a little older than his 55 years. In this kingdom
of two million square kilometers, temperatures can
reach 60 degrees Celsius in the month of August and
rainfall is rare—so rare that the rains seem to mark
the passage of time. Abdullah still remembers the last
downpour that brought Riyadh to a standstill: “It was
early May 2010. The streets were flooded. It was a real
deluge.”
Abdullah is a Bedouin who immigrated here 20 years
ago, after living three quarters of his life camping in
the desert. He was born in the date-producing province of Al Qassim, 400 kilometers northwest of the
26 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
city. In the early 1990s, he decided it was time for a drastic change
in lifestyle, both for himself and his family: “I came to Riyadh in
search of a more comfortable life for my children, my wives and
my parents.” Abdullah now owns two houses (500 and 600 square
meters), which are considered average in a country where everything is supersized.
He remembers one of his more vivid childhood memories:
“Up until the age of 10, I would fetch water from the well, which
was a typical chore for a young boy. Nowadays, I take great pleasure
in turning on the tap and using the water that flows out of it.” This
is a simple, commonplace part of his everyday life today, but that
is because Abdullah and his family are among the 400,000 Riyadh
households that benefit from the drinking water network now
being built in the Saudi capital. For the time being, all of Riyadh’s
residents use water from tanks on the roof of their homes and below
gardens. When the network cannot provide enough volume, these
reservoirs are supplied by blue tanker trucks. And the city continues
to expand, with a population that has grown by 20% in the past six
years! This obviously increases demand for connections to the drinking water supply and represents a real challenge for the authorities,
and especially for the National Water Company (NWC), which oversees these vital developments.
Abdullah was only recently connected to the wastewater
]]]]
collection system, and it has improved his quality of life. As he
Though it was a
tiny oasis just 100
years ago, Riyadh is
now a fast-growing
metropolis where huge
shopping malls, luxury
hotels and skyscrapers
abound. ]
©Veolia photo library - René Tanguy
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
27
HORIZONS SAUDI ARABIA THE QUEST FOR WATER IN THE OIL KINGDOM
INTERVIEW
CLOSE COLLABORATION AND COMPLETE COMMITMENT
Nemer Al Shebel
Co-Director of RCBU
] What has been achieved over the
past five years of partnership?
It all comes down to one number:
100,000. In February, we celebrated
the 100,000th connection to
the wastewater network. At the
beginning of the contract, the
network supported just 50,000
connections, so that’s quite an
achievement. To reach that number,
we had to build a 2,300-kilometer
pipe system to connect them all to the
Manfouha and Al Kharj wastewater
treatment plants. Today, 68% of end
users—400,000 households, up from
270,000 before 2008—are hooked
up to the wastewater treatment
network.
] What resources and schemes have
been put in place?
We h a v e l a u n c h e d l a r g e
projects to deliver new network
connections more quickly and
reduce environmental impact.
By optimizing efficiency at the
treatment plants, we are now able
to produce larger quantities of highquality water without interruption.
It’s important to acknowledge
the difficult challenges we had to
overcome; that’s why we contracted
with an operator that boasts the
28 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
The National Water Company (NWC) and its specialized regional and
project-based subsidiaries, like Riyadh City Business Unit (RCBU),
have relied on Veolia Water’s expertise to help develop and organize
the capital’s drinking water and wastewater networks. Five years
on, Nemer Al Shebel reflects on this fruitful partnership.
necessary experience. With Veolia,
we have met most of our goals. The
key to success has been our close
collaboration and the complete
commitment from both companies.
] What challenges lie ahead?
Daily demand for water currently
totals 1.8 million cubic meters. To
keep pace with increasing needs
and guarantee service, a desalination
plant is under construction and is set
to come on stream in 2014. But big
projects like this come with a certain
price tag. In this case, it’s nearly €500
million! Another way to guarantee
service while simultaneously saving
water is by promoting responsible
water use. For example, we are
working hard to decrease leaks
every day, because the loss of 17%
of distributed volume just won’t
do. We have fitted the network
with new high-tech equipment and
also increased the number of teams
responsible for locating leaks. In two
years, we have installed 2,700 meters
in the Al Moroujh pilot area. Thanks
to a remote reading system, we can
better manage problems, leaks and
excessive consumption. We are on
track to extend this system to the
entire city of Riyadh.
] Do you think changing the way users
manage this newfound convenience is
as important as major investments in
infrastructure?
Of course! We have to prevent
end users from wasting water and
encourage them to manage their
consumption more efficiently. To
that end, it’s important that we set
a few ground rules. Our customers
really need to give up their bad habits
(see interview page 32). Riyadh’s
water travels 400 kilometers from
the ocean to reach the city. And
let’s not forget that the capital is
at an altitude of 600 meters, which
further increases production and
maintenance costs. We have to
raise awareness by tugging at their
heartstrings.
] What do you mean by that?
We need to explain to today’s
users that the water they save will
support future generations. Water
has become a high-stakes political
and strategic issue in recent years. It
could provoke tension in the region. ]
explains: “For over 20 years, like other people not
connected to the network, I had to empty my septic
tank regularly, which is a very unpleasant task.” To
compound this particular problem, waste-collection companies were in the habit of dumping the
contents of their tanker trucks in the middle of the
desert (see inset).
Faced with water scarcity and the challenges
of sustainable resource management, Riyadh is now
looking at ways to reclaim and reuse its wastewater to
provide future solutions. The policy pursued by the
Saudi authorities in partnership with Veolia Water
focuses on developing these solutions by equipping
wastewater plants with treatment systems that allow
water to be reused in industry and agriculture, and
for watering parks and gardens. At present, only 10%
of water from treatment plants is reused, but the
technology should eventually be available to people
like Abdullah, allowing him to keep both of his
gardens green. ]
The end of “Nazeem Lake”
Not long ago, the city’s wastewater was dumped at
poorly regulated, open-air sewage ponds like the
unauthorized dumping ground dubbed “Nazeem
Lake” on Riyadh’s eastern outskirts. Over the
years, the “dump”—spanning some 5.8 million
square meters (600 soccer fields)—grew into a
huge, foul-smelling lake. In 2002, one of the first
decisions announced by the NWC as part of its
commitment to environmental protection, was to
arrange official disposal facilities compliant with
international regulations and to restore the site to
its original ecological state. This unprecedented
clean-up campaign was completed in March 2012.
Contaminants have been removed and the lake filled
in, allowing camels to reclaim the site. ]
Small local markets
continue to sell fruits
and vegetables at
affordable prices
despite the rise of
supermarkets selling
imported products. ]
©AP/Sipa
]]]]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
29
HORIZONS SAUDI ARABIA THE QUEST FOR WATER IN THE OIL KINGDOM
SPOTLIGHT
Syria
Irak
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Egypt
Riyadh
ea
dS
Re
Medina
Iran
Dammam
Bahrain
Qatar
UAE
Mecca
Oman
Jeddah
Sudan
Yemen
Eritrea
Arabian Sea
Djibouti
Somalia
Saudi
Arabia is the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. Its capital,
With a surface area of more than two million square kilometers,
Saudi Arabia, which depends on rainfall, aquifers
Riyadh, covers 1,554 square kilometers and is home to 5.7 million people. ]
and desalination to meet water needs, is invested in
protecting this vital resources.
2,300 kilometers of pipes were laid to link the
]
100,000 connections to the network. ]
400,000
]Almost
homes
are connected to the Riyadh
drinking water network. ]
68%
of users (270,000
households) are connected to
the wastewater network. ]
]
1.8 million cubic meters: the volume of water
]
2,700 smart meters were installed in two years
]
in the Al Moroujh pilot zone. ]
30 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
©AP/Sipa
consumed daily in Riyadh. ]
©Veolia photo library - Fayez Nureldine/AFP
©Veolia photo library - Fayez Nureldine/AFP
The government is promoting modern,
efficient irrigation systems, rolling out
progressive water rates and trying to
eliminate leaks.
©Veolia photo library - Fayez Nureldine/AFP
©Veolia photo library - Fayez Nureldine/AFP
The country is also building dams and desalination plants, and
encouraging wastewater recycling, or reuse. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
31
HORIZONS SAUDI ARABIA THE QUEST FOR WATER IN THE OIL KINGDOM
Al Buweib
Well that makes a
difference!
]Nothing
should be overlooked in the bid to
make the most of available resources. Geology
offers real opportunities—for those who know
how to take advantage of them. In the desert
just outside Riyadh, groundwater lies at an
average depth of more than 2,000 meters.
Making that water fit for drinking requires an
impressive technological feat—one that must be
used in moderation. Special report. ]
is produced by seawater desalination facilities near
Khobar, on Saudi Arabia’s east coast. The other half
is pumped from aquifers in the middle of the desert,
through 200 wells drilled all around the capital,
within a 250 kilometer radius of the city. Eight of
these wells—five now under construction and three
being rehabilitated—are found in Al Buweib, which
is also home to 11 drinking water production plants.
The water in the wells lies at a depth of between 400
and 2,400 meters, and comes from brackish fossil
aquifers. It is extracted using derricks identical to
those used in oil drilling, and reaches ground level at
a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius. It is then treated
and desalinated to make it fit for consumption.
The Al Buweib site is 45 kilometers from Riyadh
in the middle of the desert. On this particular day,
32 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
©Veolia photo library - Fayez Nureldine /AFP
] Riyadh’s water supply comes from two sources. 50%
The 200 wells
spread out within
a 250-kilometer
radius of the
capital provide an
additional supply
of drinking water.
They pump at
depths up to 2,400
meters. ]
THREE QUESTIONS FOR
Jean-Paul Camus,
©Veolia photo library - Fayez Nureldine/AFP
Managing Director at Veolia Water Saudi Arabia
and RCBU, Co-Director at NWC.
Recycling, or reuse, is one of the solutions chosen by the
National Water Company (NWC) and Veolia to create a more
sustainable water supply in Riyadh. Jean-Paul Camus underscores the importance of this approach to saving water.
] What exactly does reuse mean?
©Veolia photo library - Fayez Nureldine/AFP
Reuse means treating wastewater to make it suitable for use in
industry, agriculture and the service sector. On the one hand,
it helps mitigate the strain on water resources by preventing
any further drop in the water table, which has already sunk by
tens of meters in the past 30 years. (As you can imagine, there
is very little groundwater recharge given the lack of rainfall in
Saudi Arabia.) On the other, it helps reduce the use of energyhungry desalinated water. If we don’t act swiftly, all of Saudi
Arabia’s oil will be used up in the next 20 years just to produce
its water supply!
The Saudi Ministry of Water and Electricity aims to focus on
recycling wastewater after treatment. The goal is to use the
35% of water currently being treated and recover 100% of it in
the near future.
] How will the water be used?
©Veolia photo library - René Tanguy
the sun is masked by a veil of sand. The sky is milky
white. There is only one way to get here: the road from
Riyadh that runs past the King Abdulaziz race track
in Al Janadriyah, followed by a bumpy, dusty minor
road. A four-wheel-drive vehicle is the best option.
45 minutes out of Riyadh, the contrast is striking:
on one side, the treatment plant and reservoirs are a
hive of activity with their state-of-the-art technology;
on the other, Bedouin camel breeders go about their
business.
“Al Buweib currently produces 25,000 cubic meters of
water a day and will have an output of 35,000 cubic
meters in the next few months,” explains Laurent
Archimbaud, RCBU Works Director. “It is important
that the Saudi people make optimal use of their wells
to reduce dependency on water from the Persian
Gulf.” ]
] How can reuse help offset the problem of water scarcity?
At present, 10% of water from treatment plants is reused in
industry and agriculture, as well as in parks and gardens. We
have already identified a number of users. The NWC aims
to significantly boost this number by building a specific
network for non-drinking water and improving the quality
of treatment. In 2012, three tertiary treatment plants were
commissioned at the Manfouha and Al Heat sites, with a
capacity of 400,000 cubic meters a day. This treated wastewater
is channeled through a special pipe system that is separate
from the drinking water network. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
33
HORIZONS SAUDI ARABIA THE QUEST FOR WATER IN THE OIL KINGDOM
Riyadh City Business Unit
©Veolia photo library - Romain Secco
Educating through dialogue
]The customer service department
at the Riyadh City Business Unit
(RCBU) is a vital service and a key
part of the National Water Company
(NWC) strategy. It provides
users with a reliable, transparent,
interactive information service
and, above all, seeks to moderate
consumption resulting from more
widespread access to water. The
agency focuses on promoting a
long-term relationship built on
trust. Joël Boutier, department
manager for the past three years,
points out the benefits of the
service. ]
34 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
How do you moderate the use
of something that comes to users
“naturally”? This is the task given to
the customer service department. To
achieve its goals, it must be readily
available and easy to contact. Visitors
should also feel welcome, even when
they have to wait. “That is why we
set up the department in the Al
Nuzha district, near the international
conference center,” explains Mr. Boutier.
“You can’t miss the huge drop of water
in blue-tinted glass when you’re on
King Abdullah Road, one of Riyadh’s
main avenues.” Careful attention has
also been paid to the interior. Inside,
everything is perfectly designed to
host customers, who come mainly to
pay their bills, request information or
]
file a complaint. As chance would have
it, on the eve of our visit, the call center
fielded 10,000 calls in one day from
people complaining about problems
with their water supply as a result of
winter maintenance work. This is a
rare occurrence: the department usually
handles an average of 3,000 calls a day.
“The National Water Company has
also created a showroom to share
water use information with users. It
covers simple, everyday situations,
like how to wash your car and water
your garden without wasting water.
Other tips include not leaving the tap
on while you’re brushing your teeth or
doing the dishes, etc. There is a whole
range of simple, everyday advice for
users.” As Mr. Boutier points out,
“Water is incredibly cheap in Riyadh,
which probably explains why people
still don’t pay enough attention to how
much they use. We apply a sliding scale.
For instance, prices per cubic meter can
vary from €0.02, up to 50 cubic meters a
month, to €1.30 for more than 300 cubic
meters a month. We also provide watersaving balloons that people can put in
their toilet tanks.” Yet that is still not
enough to change people’s behavior.
In line with the Ministry of Water and
Electricity’s bid to reduce daily water
consumption per capita from more than
300 liters to 250 liters1, advertising is also
a big help: campaigns include press ads,
television commercials and billboards.
The message is clear and concise: “If
you shower in four minutes, you will
The RCBU’s customer
service center provides
ideal surroundings
for listening to and
informing users thanks
to inviting design, an
efficient call center, a
water use showroom and
more. ]
save 130 liters.” This is the first such
campaign for Riyadh and Saudi Arabia.
Fines are a last resort. If water officials
can prove that users are abusing the
system, they may impose a fine in the
form of an extra charge on the customer’s
next water bill. The average fine stands
at SAR200 (€40). “We caught 400,000
infringements last year, compared with
75,000 in 2007,” concludes Mr. Boutier. ]
1 – Comparative data on other daily amounts include
250 liters per capita in North America, 100-130 liters per
capita in Europe and 10 liters per capita in sub-Saharan
Africa (source: CIEau - 2012).
In Riyadh, the 4,300 employees at
Riyadh City Business Unit (RCBU) all
take courses at the water industry skills and
management training center to improve
their knowledge and build their expertise.
Set up in 2009 in the Al Nuzha district, the
center provided a total of 268,000 hours
of training between 2009 and 2012. Its
director, Henrick Sandberg, notes that
“before 2010, many employees did not come
to the training sessions.” Absenteeism was
peaking at 50%. Three years later, it is down
to 15%. The reason? “Any unwarranted
absence may be deducted from the
employee’s pay check.” ]
©Veolia photo library - Fayez Nureldine/AFP
©Veolia photo library - René Tanguy
©Veolia photo library - Fayez Nureldine/AFP
Training center
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
35
A new look
at Detroit
PHOTO ESSAY BY CHRIS MALUSZYNSKI.
VU AGENCY.
VIEWS
When he first arrived in Detroit
in 2008, photographer Chris
Maluszynski found a dangerous,
abandoned city. The auto
industry was facing the worst
crisis it had ever seen and the
once-booming Motor City was
in ruins. But when he returned
to the city in early 2013, Chris
immediately sensed that the
promise of something new and
undefinable was beginning to
take hold…
36 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
VUE DE NUIT DE
MICHIGAN CENTRAL
STATION
] Michigan Central
Station, built in
1912-1913 by the
same architects
who designed New
York’s Grand Central
Terminal. After it
closed in 1988, the
station was vandalized
and looted for all its
valuables, including
historic brass fixtures
and decorative
railings. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
37
VIEWS A NEW LOOK AT DETROIT
38 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
GREG WILLERER IN
FRONT OF HIS FARM
IN CORKTOWN,
DETROIT
] Greg left his job as a
teacher to become an
urban farmer. Today he
tends 12 empty city lots,
about an acre of land.
His business, Brother
Nature Produce, which
is subsidized by the
municipal authorities,
sells about 100 kilograms
of salad greens a
week. 27 families get
their produce from his
agriculture co-op. ]
JENN MCGREEVY,
AT EASTERN
MARKET
] Jenn, who is from
the neighboring city of
Hamtramck, makes her
own pickles and sells
them at Eastern Market
every weekend. This
popular farmers’ market
attracts an eclectic
variety of customers,
partly because the
number of supermarkets
in Detroit has heavily
declined, but also
because the market
offers attractive prices
and customers can even
use food stamps. ]
DOWNTOWN
DETROIT
] The group of seven
interconnected
skyscrapers that make
up General Motor’s
world headquarters—the
Renaissance Center, or
“RenCen” as it is known
to locals—make for a
stark contrast with the
abandoned warehouses
by the waterfront. ]
VIEWS RETOUR À DÉTROIT
40 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
MURAL
BY KATIE CRAIG
] Artist Katie Craig received
a Community + Public Arts
Detroit (CPAD) grant to create
The Illuminated Mural on
the facade of an abandoned
warehouse in the North End in
2010. ]
LEONARD GRAVES
AT HOME AFTER
A DAY’S WORK
] Graves is the only businessman in Detroit whose shop
sits on three wheels. He has
been riding through the city
selling ice cream from his bike
for 15 years, and has recently
expanded to include sausages. ]
DMYTRO SZYLAK,
UKRAINIAN IMMIGRANT
] Dmytro created this unique
site, “Hamtramck Disneyland,”
in the suburb of Hamtramck
after retiring from General
Motors. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
41
VIEWS A NEW LOOK AT DETROIT
TODD MISTOR,
IN CORKTOWN
] Todd checks
his trees at the
nursery set up on
an empty lot in
Corktown, with a
beautiful view of
Michigan Central
Station. Todd is
a kind of urban
forest ranger: he
tends the trees for
Detroit’s town hall,
removing dead
branches and
planting saplings.
The project could
take on new
trees, but given
its poor financial
situation, the city
depends entirely
on donations
from non-profit
organizations. ]
42 ]]]]Planet #01 ]May 2013 ]
Chris Maluszynski
The whole world is his stomping ground and
the United States—where he lived for a number of years—is his favorite subject. Especially Detroit.
Photographer Chris Maluszynski paints an uncompromising first-hand picture of the Motor City,
blending stark reality and self-sufficiency with the prospect of revival. ]
BY GUILLAUME FROLET
C
hris has had a camera in his hands for as
long as he can remember. Born in Warsaw
into a family of academics, he left Poland
in 1980, at the age of six, when his father
took a job as an IT professor in Denmark. One year
later, General Jaruzelski declared martial law in
Poland, preventing the family from returning home.
As a result, young Chris grew up in Sweden, where
he honed his skills with the lens, a tool that soon
became his window onto the world.
He was a precocious photographer. Imbued with
his parents’ scientific curiosity, he improved
his eye by taking pictures of friends, until a
professional photographer noticed his talent
and suggested he contact local newspapers.
Then, against all expectations, he chose to study
engineering at university. That is, until his passion
got the better of him... Unable to reconcile the
two pursuits, Chris gave up his career in science
to “refocus”: he signed up for art history at the
Sorbonne, spending a year in Paris, where he
followed in the footsteps of luminaries like
Doisneau and Cartier-Bresson.
While still a student, he received his first
commissions. He then went on to become a fulltime photojournalist, working for a series of
Swedish publications. Yet his independent spirit
drove him onward. Chris dreamed of working on
projects of his own. In 2002, he founded Moment,
a Scandinavian freelance collective seeking to
mesh artistic freedom with a solid network of
professionals. All of its members were looking to
tell their stories through photography. At the same
time, Chris was presented with another amazing
opportunity when the agency VU offered to
represent him. Moment quickly became an eclectic
group of artists covering a wide range of styles,
and to celebrate its 10-year anniversary, the artists
prepared a collective work dubbed Scandinavian
Moments, a road movie in which stereotypes of the
region—tall, beautiful blondes and never-ending
stretches of tundra, for example—are juxtaposed
with a more personal take on contemporary
Scandinavia.
In the meantime, Chris moved to New York in
2005 to work as a correspondent for leading
Swedish daily, Dagens Nyheter. He began to explore
the country and turned his encounters with its
marginalized populations—illegal immigrants,
artists, writers, religious communities, etc.—into
stunning portraits. His own statute as a foreigner
and the strength he garnered from his position as an
outsider undoubtedly helped him sympathize with
these people who just keep on doing what they do,
living with their choices.
Then came the assignment in Detroit, Michigan. He
arrived in 2008, in the middle of the financial crisis
to find this former jewel in the US industrial crown
totally devastated. Chris set about capturing the
unease of the automotive industry, whose decadeslong decline from former glory had slipped into
a precipitous plunge with the onset of the crisis.
He was back the following year, this time with a
considerably lighter task: capturing the exploits
of the (part-Swedish) Red Wings ice hockey team.
Incredibly impressed by Detroiters’ ability to
reinvent themselves and to believe in themselves
when no one else did, he vowed to return to the
city, which, despite its tremendous troubles, was
showing new signs of life.
His most recent story—shot in late 2012—focuses
on the city’s unique do-it-yourself ethic and
grassroots creativity, which are driving urban
renewal. Chris Maluszynski already plans to
document the changes brought about by this fragile,
nascent revival. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
43
VIEWS IBRAHIM MAYAKI
]Former Prime Minister of Niger Ibrahim Assane Mayaki is a key name in African politics and is now
beginning his second term as CEO of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). His
somewhat unconventional career path reflects his vision for a changing continent. A vision that is
both clear and bold. ]
Ibrahim Mayaki
A vision for Africa
BY PATRICIA COIGNARD. PHOTO: CHRISTOPHE MAJANI D’INGUIMBERT FOR VEOLIA PHOTO LIBRARY
A
t first sight, Ibrahim Assane Mayaki has all
the traits of a man of power. Just a few hours
after arriving in Paris from South Africa, he
is impeccably dressed, friendly, thoughtful
and focused. Mr. Mayaki’s personality shines through
as soon as the 61-year-old Nigerian starts speaking.
Former Foreign Minister of Niger, then the country’s
Prime Minister from 1997 to 2000, he began his second
term as CEO of the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD) in 2012. On starting his new
mandate, he volunteered a few life goals: “I strive for
integrity in the ‘Anglo-Saxon’ sense. In other words,
I aim to be as true to myself as possible. I make sure
I find the time to do things other than work; to
enjoy life with my family. To read. I prefer books on
development issues.” He also happens to practice
meditation and taekwondo, in which he is a fifth dan!
He introduced the martial art in Niger in 1976.
This personal quest for balance throughout
44 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
an outstanding career comprising three consecutive
“sequences” of 10 years—in education, mining and
politics—has undoubtedly been instrumental in
helping Ibrahim Assane Mayaki rise to the challenge he
is about to overcome, working closely with a number
of African leaders: getting the continent on track
towards sustainable development and growth to make
Africa a true stakeholder in the global economy. “We
still too often forget that Africa has the largest share
of arable land, the highest density of natural mineral
resources and the youngest population in the world!” he
explained.
The roadmap he promotes with NEPAD
seeks to implement a synergistic approach in which
each country plays its part, both individually and
collectively, to ensure gradual, balanced, sustainable
recovery. So what exactly does that involve?
The first goal is economic integration on a
regional scale, with a focus on creating pan-African
]]]]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
45
VIEWS IBRAHIM MAYAKI
]]]]
corridors: “In this respect, West and East Africa are
highly representative regions.” The second is a more
modern approach to agriculture: “Burkina Faso has
significantly reduced poverty.” Third, the approach
focuses on creating a more diverse rural economy
to offset rampant urbanization and ensure the
employment of young people “to prevent the kind
of social implosion seen in Tunisia”. Next is the bid
to improve the system of primary and secondary
education, with a specific focus on technical training
programs “that will underpin the industrialization
process.” Last but not least, the campaign also aims
to introduce innovative financial mechanisms and
measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.
“This long-term strategy is now beginning to
reap its rewards, with sustained annual growth of 5-7%
across a continent that escaped the worst of the global
economic and financial crisis. While Africa still needs
to deal with regional conflicts, an outflow of capital,
and food insecurity, which all hamper development,
the successes of the past decade are proof that Africans
are able to tap their potential—to support continuous
improvements in government and to promote
economic development without relying on oil and
uranium exports or foreign aid. In each major region
of Africa, there are now two or three countries that are
really emerging and driving the rest. And this is just the
beginning.”
Since he left politics in Niger in August 2000,
Ibrahim Mayaki has done his utmost to defend
his practical vision of a stronger Africa. An activist
by nature, he sets little store in the lure of power.
Towards the end of his time as Prime Minister, he set
up the Public Policy Analysis Center, “an independent
think tank that gives recommendations on issues
related to health and education.” In 2004, he was
appointed Executive Director of Rural Hub, a Dakarbased organization supporting rural development
stakeholders in West and Central Africa. He was
recruited as Chief Executive Officer of NEPAD five years
later, largely thanks to his track record with the Hub.
So what does the future hold? “Nobody can say
what fate has in store. All we can do is remain clear-sighted
and accept the opportunities that life brings our way.” ]
]Nepad: promoting synergy throughout Africa The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was set up in 2001 and is still Africa’s
only continent-wide development plan today. NEPAD joined the African Union (AU) in 2010 as the NEPAD Agency and the organization now has
an official, clearly defined mandate.
Its Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) is a key driver in promoting the creation of cross-regional corridors—like the
routes between Dakar, Libreville and Djibouti—which will provide a link between the capitals Bamako, Niamey, N’Djamena and Bangui by 2020.
Other projects with strong economic potential include the Kribi–Bangui–Kisangani and Pointe-Noire–Brazzaville–Kinshasa–Bangui–
N’Djamena corridors, and the coastal route between Abidjan and Lagos. The completion of the Trans-Saharan Highway in 2013 will provide both
a road and fiber-optic link between Niger, Nigeria and Algeria.
Another priority project for NEPAD is the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), which has led to a 6% increase in
agricultural productivity and seeks to encourage each country to allocate 6% of its public spending to the industry.
Since 2007, NEPAD and the Veolia Foundation have been working together on a program to eliminate cholera in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. “This philanthropic use of skills and expertise to help eradicate this terrible disease also aims to develop innovative partnership models
that can be applied beyond the health sector,” explains Mr. Mayaki. ]
BRIEF BIO
]Ibrahim Assane Mayaki was
born in Niger in 1951. His
wife is from Venezuela. He
has two children. ]Mr. Mayaki
holds a Master’s degree from
the National School of Public
Administration (ENAP)
in Quebec and a PhD in
Administrative Sciences from
Université Paris I. ]
]1978-1987: Professor
of Public Administration
and Management in Niger
46 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
and in Venezuela ]
]1988-1997: Head of strategy
and training for Nigerian
engineers at SOMAIR,
a Nigerian subsidiary
of Areva ]
]1996-1997: Minister of African
Integration and Cooperation
and Minister of Foreign Affairs
for the Republic of Niger ]
] November 1997–December
1999: Prime Minister
of the Republic of Niger ]
]2004: Executive Director
of Rural Hub, a Dakar-based
organization supporting rural
development stakeholders
in West and Central Africa ]
]Since April 2009: Chief
Executive Officer of NEPAD ]
]Since 2010: Chairman
of the Global Alliance against
Cholera (GAAC) ]
FIGURES
1 in 2 African people is
under the age of 25.
50 years
from now,
over 70% of the African
population will still be under
30 years of age.
40 out of 54 African
countries now hold
democratic elections.
©Veolia photo library - Nicolas Vercellino
visions
]Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed:
the HPD evaporation-crystallization process separates liquids from
solids, making it possible to recover resources. ]With the creation
of Asteralis, Veolia Environnement and the French Alternative
Energies and Atomic Energy Commission are venturing into
a promising new field: the dismantling and decontamination
of nuclear facilities. ]BioData is a new database that clearly
describes many sources of biomass and lists the combustion
technology best suited to each of them. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
47
VISIONS EVAPORATION-CRYSTALLIZATION
©Confab / VWS BRASIL LTDA
48 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
]Industrial firms are increasingly committed to combining productivity gains with the protection of natural
resources. HPD® evaporation-crystallization technology, developed by Veolia Water, is the perfect solution.
Read on to learn how it works. ]
A technology developed with industry in mind
BY HUBERT KERNEÏS
N
ow more than ever, the time is ripe for
technologies that meet the demands
of industrial firms, which are under
increasing pressure to protect water
resources and raw materials more effectively.
These technologies help to reduce environmental
impact—by improving performance and
recovering resources—and to optimize production
costs, by boosting productivity. One of the
cutting-edge technologies developed in recent
years is Veolia Water’s HPD® evaporation and
crystallization process. Its main advantage is that
by separating the liquids in effluent from the
solids, the latter become recoverable materials.
With 800 such industrial facilities in 30 countries,
including Spain, Brazil, Indonesia and New
Zealand, Veolia Water is now seen as one of the
three global leaders in this field. New orders for
this technology represented €440 million in sales
in 2012, a record year.
In the agricultural industry, where demographic
pressure is increasing the demand for manures
and fertilizers—the global market for potash has
increased by 50% since 2009—the HPD process
has enabled the Spanish fertilizer specialist,
Iberpotash, to recover 750,000 metric tons a year
of food-grade and chemical salts (mainly used for
salting roads) from production residues and 50,000
metric tons a year of white potash.
In the south of Canada’s Saskatchewan province,
in what is set to become one of the largest potash
plants in North America, the subsidiary of K+S
Potash, one of the world’s leading players in
fertilizers, has chosen to incorporate evapocrystallization into its processing sector to
maximize potash production. The facility Veolia
Water is currently developing for the company
will reach its full capacity—2.86 million metric
tons of the valuable material per year—in 2023.
Still in Canada, but turning to bituminous sands,
one of the largest players in the sector has made
use of the technology in northern Alberta, to
recycle and recover 40,000 barrels per day
(6,350 cubic meters per day) of the water used in
its production process.
Recycling process water is an increasingly
important issue for industry players everywhere,
like in Brazil. The Brazilian firm GDK, for
example, has signed a contract with Veolia
Water Solutions & Technologies to build a plant
for petrochemical giant Petrobras, Fafen-SE, in
Sergipe state (Nordeste). Veolia will provide basic
engineering and supply equipment for ammonium
sulfate production. Following a reaction between
ammonia and waste sulfuric acid from the
nearby refining activities, the plant will use
crystallization technology to produce 875 metric
]]]]
tons a day of fertilizer products. ]
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
49
VISIONS EVAPORATION-CRYSTALLIZATION
POTASH EXTRACTION
EVAPORATION AND
Treated water
Evaporationcrystallization
system
Salt crystals
Potash
Recovery of resources
Ore solution
Water pumped in
Heat
exchanger
Dissolved potash
Potash
deposit
50 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
Circulator
CRYSTALLIZATION PROCESS
Steam
Three states of matter:
MAJOR FIELDS IN WHICH
EVAPORATION-CRYSTALLIZATION IS USED
• Salt and soda ash industries
Treatment of effluent and recovery
of resources like sodium chloride
solid
liquid
gas
depending on the
temperature and
pressure conditions
• Recycling and waste management industries
Treatment of leachate
• Oil & gas industry
Treatment of refinery effluent
• Mining and metal industries
Treatment of mining solutions
• Potash and fertilizer industries
Evaporation
chamber
Classification zone
EVAPORATION
CONDENSATION
CONCENTRATION
CRYSTALLIZATION
Treatment of effluent and recovery of resources
like potassium salts, nitrates, potash and phosphorus
• Energy industries
Ethanol/biofuels
• Paper industry
Concentration of black liquor
Goals
Eliminate
pollutants
Recover
resources
Recycle
water
Concentrate
(treated
outgoing liquid)
Four possible benefits of the system
Crystallization chamber
Solution to be heated
(incoming liquid filled with pollutants)
1
Treat effluent in order to discharge a minimum
amount of concentrate to specialized facilities.
2
Treat effluent for reuse in the industrial process,
thereby discharging a minimum amount of
concentrate to specialized facilities.
3
Treat effluent for discharge into the natural
environment and recover concentrate.
4
Treat effluent for reuse and recover concentrate.
Recovery of crystals
Evaporation-crystallization separates a given liquid (solution to be heated) into
the elements it is composed of, which can then be transformed into crystals. In
an industrial setting the salt crystals formed in the classification zone of the
crystallization chamber are removed from the solution, which remains at the
bottom of the chamber. They are then recovered and refined for use. ]
ILLUSTRATION: MARIETTE GUIGAL
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
51
VISIONS DECOMMISIONING POWER PLANTS
]With reactors built in the 1960s and 1970s showing their age, the nuclear industry must now tackle the problem
of obsolete power plants—which paves the way for a promising new sector.
]
A new sector in the nuclear industry
BY HUBERT KERNEÏS
I
t takes 10 years to design and build a nuclear
power plant, which can then provide 50 to 60
years of active service. But how long does it take
to decommission such a facility? And what are
the costs involved? These are the basic questions
now being asked by all stakeholders in the civil
nuclear industry. Besides the fact that many plants
built in the 1960s and 1970s are naturally coming to
the end of their lifecycle, these issues have loomed
larger in the public eye—and in the industry—since
the Fukushima disaster and Germany’s decision
in 2011 to abandon nuclear energy, shutting down
nine reactors by 2015 and eight more by 2022. Since
then, the colossal task of gradually shutting down
300 reactors around the world in the space of 20
years has attracted new players keen to invest in
this promising market. Yet they remain cautious,
since many major uncertainties remain, stemming
from a lack of experience in fully decommissioning
facilities, up to and including complete treatment
of waste and site remediation. According to the
52 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), some
15 sites around the world have now undergone
comprehensive decommissioning. However, these
facilities are mostly first-generation nuclear plants,
which are quite different from those currently in
operation. One thing is clear: the costs involved
tend to increase as operations near their end of
life. That is hardly surprising, especially since
environmental regulations grow increasingly
stringent from one year to the next. Despite these
reservations, many business sectors are looking
at ways to take advantage of this vast market and
make the best of the situation, given the specific
requirements of the nuclear industry. Examples
include companies specializing in robotics,
measurements and handling services, along with
those devoted to decontamination, dismantling
and treatment of all types of waste, not just
by-products of the nuclear industry. There is real
potential to create a promising sector that will
thrive for decades and generate jobs. ]
Real costs:
the English example
INTERVIEW
Robert Germinet
The Berkeley nuclear power plant stands on the border
between England and Wales. It is generally considered a
benchmark in decommissioning operations worldwide and,
in the eyes of some observers, an example of the difficulties
involved in putting a price on the process. Although
the site’s reactors were shut down in 1989, the cost of
decommissioning operations, which are still underway today,
is now estimated at around €800 million—more than twice
the amount earmarked in 2005. The resources brought into
play have made it possible to seal two of the plant’s cores,
and the two buildings used to house the reactors no longer
require special monitoring. This critical achievement is what
cast the site as an industry standard. However, the UK’s
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)—set up in 2004
to oversee decommissioning of the country’s power plants—
believes that, to complete the project, intermediate-level
waste must be buried for at least 60 years to reduce any
associated risks. In 2074, 122 years after the site opened,
this waste will be transferred to a long-term storage
facility, the location of which has yet to be determined. ]
CEO of Asteralis
“SOLUTIONS FOR DECOMMISSIONING
POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS SITES”
for 300 reactors worldwide
] source: Arthur D. Little consulting firm
specializing in decontamination
To begin focusing our knowhow on the nuclear sector,
we have signed a strategic
agreement with CEA, the French
Alternative Energies and Atomic
Energy Commission, which is
the organization responsible for
France’s position as the world
leader in the nuclear power
cycle. The goal of the agreement
is to pool our respective areas
of expertise in order to develop
integrated decontamination
and dismantling solutions. We
will begin with pilot programs
at the CEA sites in Cadarache
and Marcoule, France. We will
soon be able to assess the initial
state of any facility, as well as its
condition after decontamination
and remediation.
hazardous facilities. How important
is this new sector?
©Veolia photo library - C. Majani
Taking only French civil
nuclear plants into account,
one figure comes to mind: the
French Court of Auditors placed
the cost of decontaminating
and dismantling these sites
at €31.9 million in a 2012
report by ASN, the French
nuclear safety authority.
Asteralis aims to become a
key player in this field by
“nuclearizing” the various areas
of expertise—decontamination,
dismantlement, remediation and
waste management—that have
made Veolia Environnement
the global benchmark in
environmental services.
UK
DECOMMISSIONING FIGURES
€220 BILLION
] How will the agreement signed
with CEA help Asteralis?
and dismantling potentially
CEA: the nuclear
energy expert
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy
Commission (CEA) is a public authority as well as
a leader in research, development and innovation. It
tackles crucial contemporary issues, including lowcarbon energy, information and healthcare technologies,
very large-scale infrastructure (TGIR), and defense
and global security. CEA teams rely on high-quality
fundamental research to support industrial players in
each of these four areas. The cutting-edge technologies
developed and used by CEA over the past few years
in nuclear facility decommissioning—such as remote
radiological analysis techniques, simulation software
and robotics—are available to French companies seeking
contracts in the sector. ]
] Veolia Environnement has
created Asteralis, a subsidiary
GERMANY
€58 billion
€62 billion
for all facilities (estimate)
for all facilities (estimate)
FRANCE
USA
€40-50 billion
$300 million
over 50 years for 58 reactors (estimate)
per plant (estimate)
] source: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
53
VISIONS BIOMASS
54 ]]]]Planet ]#02octobre
]May2012
2013]]
BIOMASS
BioData on green
energy sources
©Westend61, ©Flickr Open, ©Zen shui, © Veolia photo library - S.Lavoué, ©Veolia photo library - C.Majani
BY ANNE BÉCHIRI
Olive pits, recycled wood, spent grain from
brewing, coffee grounds, sunflower seed shells,
corn cobs, sunflower meal, hemp bricks, barley
straw, hevea, walaba, crabwood...
This may sound like a recipe for an allegorical
portrait by Arcimboldo1 but it is in fact just
a sample of the many types of biomass fuel
available today. Though this green source of
primary energy is still much under-used, its
development is a key driver in the bid to speed
up the transition to a low-carbon society.
Veolia Environnement’s R&D department is now
exploring the many different ways of using
biomass as a source of fuel. It has,
for instance, developed a method of assessing
the energy potential of the different biomass
resources currently available. Each of these
waste products is subjected to a whole battery
of tests. Researchers then use the results
to make recommendations on the best way—in
both environmental and economic terms—to
recover energy from each source. Veolia R&D
has also compiled a database, dubbed BioData,
which it uses to centralize findings from its
work characterizing the different sources of
biomass fuel for boiler systems. The database
provides a host of benefits, such as the ability
to recommend optimal combustion technology,
detail any boiler clogging risks, and predict
the type of exhaust gases and ash that will
be produced. ]
1- Sixteenth-century painter from Milan, Italy, best
known for creating imaginative caricatural, allegorical
portraits of “composite heads” made entirely of fruits,
vegetables and plants, often symbolizing seasons or
professions.
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
55
VISIONS NEWSWATCH ]]]]
FIGURES
$7.7 BILLION
MINING INDUSTRY
The amount of money spent by mining companies
in 2011 to build water-related infrastructure,
including $818 million spent on treatment,
filtration and desalination. This figure could
reach $13.6 billion by 2014.
revamps its image
]In light of recent events in Myanmar and Peru, both of which demonstrate
difficulties in reconciling economic growth with the need to safeguard
the environment and protect human rights, increasing public outcry
has encouraged mining companies to make sustainable development an
integral part of their operations.
]]]]]]]]]]]]
After a period of unprecedented growth in
the 1980s, the global mining industry has
been faced with public outcry from institutions and associations seeking to promote
environmental protection for the past 20
years. The 1992 Rio Earth Summit revealed
the first stirrings of initiatives—such as
the International Council on Mining and
Metals (made up of companies in the industry)—designed to promote sustainable
practices in a business sector that is responsible for some the most polluting activities
on the planet. In 1994, the UN issued the
Berlin Guidelines, providing the foundations of a code of conduct for mining operations worldwide. UNESCO conventions
have also come to shape the implementation of measures to protect the natural environment, and an array of international
treaties—on toxic waste, biodiversity and
wetlands—have imposed restrictions on
mining practices. On a national scale, individual governments are also tasked with
drafting laws to control the impact of mining operations on their country’s soil. In the
United States, for instance, the 1972 Clean
Water Act introduced measures to ensure
proper treatment of acid mine drainage.
In 1991, South Africa’s Minerals Act introduced an environmental management
program to regulate mining operations. In
Brazil, the federal constitution has required
mining companies to repair any damage
to the environment since 1998, while
Mongolia introduced more stringent laws
on water protection last year, imposing
penalties on those failing to comply with
standards. Some countries, such as India,
are less vigilant, leaving mine operators to
supervise themselves and issue their own
environmental impact assessments, according to Human Rights Watch. In Zimbabwe,
operators are not subject to any water quality regulations, so civil society, backed by
NGOs, is the only bastion of environmental
activism in the country. Peru is home to a
similar situation: in 2012, US mining corporation Newmont was refused a permit to
operate a copper mine following protests
by communities determined to protect
their water resources. In Myanmar, however, Nobel Peace Prize winner and politician Aung San Suu Kyi is seeking to persuade angry residents living near mining
operations that contracts signed under the
previous military regime must be honored,
as part of a bid to reconcile economic development and human rights. At a time when
the mining industry is experiencing a new
boom, it is crucial that companies find sustainable solutions to the challenges of social and environmental responsibility.
] “International Environmental and Human Rights Law Affecting Mining Law Reform,” George R. Pring (2008) ]
“Environmental management programmes as a tool for effective catchment management in Southern Africa,” Herco
Jansen (2010) ] “Evolution in Revegetation of Iron Ore Mines in Minas Gerais,” J.J. Griffith and T.J. Toy (2001) ]
“Sustainability in the mining sector,” Clarissa Lins and Elizabeth Horwitz (2007) ]“Revision of Environmental
Laws in Mongolia and its impact on the mining sector,” Michael Aldrich and Chris Melville (2012) ]hrw.org
(Human Rights Watch, June 2012) ]lemonde.fr (21/12/2012) ]The Independent (13/03/2013) ]Global Water
Intelligence (www.globalwaterintel.com) ]
56 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
200
MILLION LITERS
The amount of water that will have to be treated
every day between now and 2015 to prevent
acid mine drainage pollution of the rivers that
provide Johannesburg’s water supply.
180
MILLION METRIC TONS
The amount of toxic waste discharged into
rivers and oceans as a result of mining
operations each year.
IN THE NEWS
Anglo American is committed to being water
neutral by 2030. As the company’s head
of sustainable development and energy
told UK daily The Guardian, “By 2030, we
want our new mines to be water neutral.
This means that they would be using 50%
less water than they do now. And, from this
reduced quantity, 80% of the water they do
use would be recycled or recovered.” ]
In 2011, Barrick Gold tied a 20 MW wind farm
into the Chilean grid, supplying enough
power for 10,000 households. This farm
is part of a broader renewable energy
initiative. For example, the Canadian mining
company also invested in a wind farm
that now provides up to 20% of electricity
for its Veladero mine in Argentina. ]
windsystemsmag. com
Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto signed
an agreement with the Western Australian
government to relinquish its entitlement to
local water supplies. Instead, the company
will develop a coastal water supply project
to secure water resources for its iron ore
operations. ]miningenvironmental.com
Targeted by NGOs as a result of its
nickel mining operations in Weda Bay
(Indonesia), French company Eramet has
announced that it will take every possible
step to ensure no net loss in biodiversity. ]
ressources-et-environnement.com
SPOTLIGHT
ILLEGAL TRAFFIC IN E-WASTE:
the growth of a black market
]Fed by the increasing consumption of equipment with an ephemeral life
cycle, the volume of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE
or e-waste) is the object of a flourishing illegal traffic that police and law
enforcement agencies have not been able to stop.
]]]]]]]]]]]]
All of the world’s mature economies
are striving to establish waste disposal
procedures to manage e-waste and
curb its export to developing countries.
The recycling rate is increasing as
corporations begin to take social and
environmental responsibility more
seriously. Nevertheless, a significant
proportion of the 20 to 50 million metric
tons of e-waste generated each year is
illegally sent to countries in Asia (e.g.
China, India and Pakistan) and Africa (e.g.
Ghana and Nigeria). This traffic is in total
disregard of the Basel Convention, which,
since 1992, has required control of crossborder movements of hazardous waste.
According to estimates by the NGO Basel
Action Network, the United States—the
only major power that has not ratified
the treaty—ships 50 to 80% of the e-waste
it collects to China and Africa, and the
European Environment Agency reports
that up to 1.3 million metric tons leave
the US every year. These findings are all
the more worrying because the trade
remains difficult to track and therefore to
control, particularly in the form of secondhand electronic equipment, which it is
legal to export to developing countries.
To dispose of a device that has reached
the end of its life, traffickers simply ship
“disguised” waste to places where the
cost of processing per metric ton is not
subject to the constraints imposed by
environmental standards. According
to Europol, the increasing influence of
organized crime gives reason to fear there
may be an increase in this traffic, which
often runs out of Italy or the Netherlands.
And even if legislation exists in the
importing countries, it can scarcely keep
the informal recycling sector in check.
For example, China, which since 1996 has
prohibited the import of hazardous waste,
remains the number one destination in
the world. Unfortunately, better tracking
of containers and stricter customs
inspections will not be enough to contain
the problem. Manufacturers need to take
greater responsibility for the situation—
something ONGs have been seeking to
impress upon them. As a result, LG has
committed to using certified recyclers,
while Dell, Apple and Samsung are
supporting the draft of the US Responsible
Electronics Recycling Act, which would
make it possible to prohibit exports from
the world’s largest generator of e-waste.
]ban.org, Basel Action Network ]lemonde.fr ]reuters.com ]euractiv.fr ]“Recycling Electronic Wastes in
Nigeria: Putting Environmental and Human Rights at Risk,” Christine Terada ]“Movements of waste across
the EU’s internal and external borders,” European Environment Agency ]“Gestion des déchets dangereux et
responsabilité sociale des firmes [Management of hazardous waste and corporate social responsibility],” Faouzi
Bensebaa and Fabienne Boudier
IN FIGURES
$2.5
The average cost of processing a ton
of toxic waste in Africa, compared to
$250 in Europe.
] source United Nations Environment Program
320
METRIC TONS OF GOLD
electronic circuits in 2011. Only 15%
of that amount is recovered, both in
developed and developing countries.
IN THE NEWS
Last November, the Dutch charterer of the
cargo vessel Probo Koala was ordered to pay
€1.7 million for having dumped hundreds of metric tons of electronic waste
in Abidjan in 2006. The incident caused
16 deaths and sickened nearly 100,000
people. ]
] New York Times, 11/17/12
Instead of making futile attempts to
prohibit imports of e-waste, the Asia-Pacific
countries would do better to make a concerted effort to increase their recycling capacities, according to a Filipino consultant. A
structured and secure system would make
it possible to recycle these resources,
which are in high demand in China and
India, more efficiently. ]
]scidev.net, 11/30/12
BY GUILLAUME FROLET
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
57
VISIONS UPCOMING EVENTS
FORUMS AND SUMMITS
MAY 2013
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES
]AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE
]7th International Conference
MAI 2013
JUNE 2013
]SMARTGREENS, 2nd
]The Sound of Cycling –
International Conference on
Smart Grids and Green IT
Systems, Aachen, Germany
Urban Cycling Cultures,
Vienna, Austria
May 9–10 ]
The conference is the
occasion for researchers,
designers, developers
and specialists to get a
firsthand look at the most
recent advances in smart
grids, green IT and energyefficient technology.
]
]9th International Conference
on Biofilm Reactors, Paris,
France
May 28–31 ]
Veolia Water and the
International Water
Association are bringing
together biofilm researchers
and operational experts
(consultants, equipment
manufacturers, operators,
etc.) to discuss the most
recent advances in
biofilm reactor research,
development and design.
The agenda will include a
review of all uses of biofilm
reactors, an assessment
of the impact of their use
on water and wastewater
treatment, and a tour of
the SIAAP wastewater
treatment plant in Achères,
near Paris, the largest such
plant in Europe.
June 11–14 ]
This international gathering
promotes cycling as an
efficient, healthy and
environmentally friendly
mode of transportation.
Presentations and
workshops will address
ecomobility, urban
development politics and
new technologies while
focusing on this year’s
theme: urban cycling
cultures.
]
]
AUGUST 2013
th
]16 International
Conference on Diffuse
Pollution and Eutrophication,
Beijing, China
August 18–23 ]
The Chinese Academy
of Science and the
International Water
Association have invited
scientists and experts
to discuss the issues of
diffuse pollution and
eutrophication. Since
these two phenomena
increasingly affect water
resources, developing
new approaches to protect
reserves and manage
sources of pollution has
become crucial.
]
on Sewer Processes and
Networks, Sheffield, United
Kingdom
August 28–30 ]
This event aims to establish
a comprehensive overview
of the technical and
scientific issues facing
wastewater treatment
networks, including design,
treatments, impacts,
monitoring, new challenges
and emerging technologies.
]
SEPTEMBER 2013
]How to Implement Risk
Management Principles and
Activities within a Quality
Management System,
Philadelphia, United States
] September 9–10 ]
The goal of this training
course offered by the
Center for Professional
Innovation and Education
is to teach attendees
how to effectively meet
the requirements of risk
management for medical
devices, pharmaceuticals,
and biological products and
processes within a quality
management system.
IN RECYCLING AND WASTE
MANAGEMENT ]Who is the best
recycler? The site letsrecycle.com
recognizes the most successful
initiatives in waste management in
11 categories covering the public,
business, industry and municipal
sectors.
]May 16, London, United Kingdom
http://www.awardsforexcellence.co.uk/
JUNE 2013
]ECOLOGY & SAFETY 2012, 22ND
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ]This
event provides a forum for participants
to share their contributions in the
fields of energy, climate change,
ecology, health, civil defense and
disaster management.
]June 7–11, Sunny Beach, Burgas,
Bulgaria
http://www.sciencebg.net/en/events/
symposiums/ecology-and-safety/
]10TH RENEWABLE ENERGY FINANCE
FORUM – WALL STREET ]Through
presentations and discussions the
forum will address the challenges
facing the renewable energy market,
which has been impacted by the
sluggish economy, the credit crunch,
investor fears and regulatory
uncertainty.
]June 25–26, New York, United States
http://www.reffwallstreet.com/
SEPTEMBER 2013
]6TH KNOWLEDGE CITIES WORLD
SUMMIT ]This year the Summit will
focus on initiatives that seek to build
sustainable information management
strategies, which are essential for
cities committed to learning and
knowledge.
]September 9-13, Istanbul, Turkey
http://www.kcws2013.org
EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
]WATER INNOVATION SUMMIT ]
JULY 2013
SEPTEMBER 2013
]8TH RENEWABLE ENERGY EXHIBITION
]400 exhibitors will share the latest
]WORLD WATER WEEK ]This major event
renewable energy technologies,
applications and service offerings with
visitors.
]July 24–26, Tokyo, Japan
http://www.renewableenergy.jp/english/
58 ]]]]Planet #02 ]May 2013 ]
in the field of international cooperation on
water issues will highlight the crucial role
partnerships play in the fight to achieve
sustainable access to drinking water
worldwide.
]September 1–6, Stockholm, Sweden
http://www.worldwaterweek.org
Organized by the Cleantech Group, this
event hosts discussion groups to tackle
the challenges facing water innovation,
bringing together prominent investors,
public service managers and business
leaders.
]September 10–11, Berkeley,
United States
http://events.cleantech.com/waterfocus/
Kiosk
In bookstores
Wildlife Photographer of the Year,
Portfolio 22
Published by the British National History Museum (€29.57). This
powerful collection contains all the winning and commended images
from the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year
2012 competition, the most prestigious event of its kind in the
world, open to both professionals and amateurs.
Online check it out at www.veolia.com/en/medias/web-tv/
Smart Industry
by Dalkia
In this series of videos, industrial clients Bonduelle,
in Hungary; SKF, in France; and DEMB (formerly Sara
Lee), in the Netherlands, share their experience of the
advantages offered by technical energy solutions.
Check it out at www.thecitiesoftomorrow.com
A handbook of innovations
for cities and regions
This handbook for local authorities presents 40
innovative and concrete solutions implemented by Veolia
Environnement—or currently being tested—in several
cities. It aims to help cities and regions successfully
make the transition to sustainable development.
]2013 May ]Planet #02 ]]]]
59
Pla et
IS A PUBLICATION OF VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT
(38, avenue Kléber – 75116 Paris – France)
]Publication Director: Laurent Obadia. Editorial Director: Christophe Valès. Editorial Manager: Christian Dexemple. Editor-in-Chief: Françoise de Voronine. ]
Image content: Laure Duquesne, Gilles Hureau. ]With special contributions from: Benoît Bardon, Arnaud Jean, Sandra Vedel. Dominique Boizeau, Sebastien
Bessenet, Claire Billon-Galland, Sandhya Bonnet, Jean-Paul Camus, Delphine Cuny, Jim Dykhuis, Sylvaine Leriquier, Claire Lhoutellier, Chloe Masson, JeanPierre Spanu, Robin Young, Aurélia Vincent. Maurice Cosandey. ]Copyright: May 2013. ISSN number: 1761-4996. ]Production Consultancy: Jean-Claude
Le Dunc. ]Translation: Sémantis. ]Cover photos: Confab/VWS Brasil LTDA; Chris Maluszynski/VU Agency; Veolia photo library: Fayez Nureldine/AFP;
Rodolphe Escher; Keiko Hiromi/Polaris/Interlinks Image. PUBLISHED BY BORDS DE LOIR ] Editorial Advisor: Étienne Collomb. Assistant Editor: Anne Béchiri. Art Director: Jean-Jacques Farré. Coordination:
Sylvie Roussel. Production Manager: Caroline Lagaillarde. ]Printed by: SIEP PEFC-certified ]Packaging, sorting and mailing by Log-ins, a disability-friendly
company. ]