|

ABB Reveals an Additional 8.56 Billion Cubic Meters of Wastewater a Year Needs to be Treated to Meet UN Goals

March 21, 2023

ABB reveals an additional 8.56 billion cubic meters of wastewater a year needs to be treated to meet UN goals
Wastewater treatment plant aerial view
  • To reach UN water targets by 2030, global wastewater treatment capacity needs to increase by 8.56 billion cubic meters each year
  • Research by ABB to mark World Water Day reveals a need to invest in an additional 469 wastewater treatment facilities annually
  • Early integration of technology to drive efficiency at plants is key

Global wastewater treatment capacity needs to increase annually by 8.56 billion cubic meters and investment in an additional 4691 treatment facilities per year is required to meet United Nations (UN) goals2. These are the findings of independent research commissioned by ABB ahead of World Water Day (WWD) on March 22, 2023.

As the UN prepares to report on progress made against its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), ABB’s research focuses on SDG 6.3 which aims to improve water quality by halving the proportion of untreated wastewater globally, increasing recycling, and minimizing the release of hazardous materials. The UN says 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, while more than 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation.

ABB reveals an additional 8.56 billion cubic meters of wastewater a year needs to be treated to meet UN goals

However, treating wastewater is energy intensive, with the industry consuming up to three percent of the world’s total energy output3 and contributing to over 1.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions4.

“This research proves more needs to be done to help support the UN goals and accelerate progress in tackling water scarcity,” said Brandon Spencer, President of ABB Energy Industries. “But we need to ensure we are achieving these wastewater treatment targets in the most energy and resource efficient way possible to make it sustainable. This is where technology is key.”

While increasing wastewater treatment capacity is a priority, the early integration of technology to drive efficiency at plants is also vital. ABB’s automation, electrification and digital solutions are helping monitor, analyze and manage wastewater plant operations. In association with crucial measurement and control solutions, which collect and transmit a wealth of operational and diagnostic data, ABB systems help optimize resource efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

Development Economics, which has over 20 years’ research experience, utilized the same data employed by the UN to assess what real-term measures are needed. Based on modelling using a 50-million-liter daily capacity wastewater treatment plant as the benchmark, a further 469 treatment facilities – the volume equivalent of 3.4 million Olympic swimming pools – is required each year.

The scale of the challenge linked to UN SDG 6.3 is highlighted in a report5 from 2021 assessing the volumes of wastewater collected, treated, and reused. The research, which is used by the UN, concludes that 48 percent or 171.3 billion cubic meters of wastewater is uncollected or untreated annually. To meet SDG 6.3 – which targets halving the proportion of untreated wastewater by 2030 – these figures need to be reduced to 24 percent and 85.65 billion cubic meters.

ABB reveals an additional 8.56 billion cubic meters of wastewater a year needs to be treated to meet UN goals

In 2022, ABB’s Energy Transition Equation report6 analyzed how better use of wastewater could relieve pressure on water supplies through greater integration of automation and digital technologies:

  • Wastewater sites can reduce carbon emissions by up to 2,000 tons per annum
  • With over 50,000 plants worldwide, 100 million tons of COcould be saved each year
  • By applying a package of automation and digital solutions, water companies can reduce carbon emissions as well as deliver annual operational savings of up to $1.2 million per plant

Source

Related Story

Research from ABB Shows How Cities Can Tackle Water Stress

Recently, ABB published the first in a series of new reports highlight the impact that technology can have in enabling industrial customers to reduce carbon emissions and manage the energy transition for a more sustainable future.

Related Articles



Editor’s Pick: Featured Article

Weidmüller’s u-control 2000: The Automation Controller

Weidmüller’s u-control 2000: The Automation Controller

Weidmüller’s scalable engineering software, u-control 2000, adapts individually to your requirements. And, the u-control is powerful, compact and fully compatible with Weidmüller’s I/O system u-remote. This article looks at what makes u-control the heart of your automation.

Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are one of the main components of any automated system. A typical control system has inputs, outputs, controllers (i.e., PLCs), and some type of human interaction with the system, a human machine interface (HMI), for example.

Read More



Latest Articles

  • Verifying Quality without Compromising Production Output Through Holistic Traceability

    March 28, 2024 Shipping a mislabeled product is at the heart of some of the largest recalls, damaged supplier relations, compliance violations, and warranty costs across multiple industries. Customers relying on “just-in-time” delivery can experience costly downtime if the quality of a label or barcode is not maintained upstream. Handheld high-volume traceability systems continue to be a… Read More…

  • Making the Sustainable Transformation of the Process Industry a Success

    March 25, 2024 By Krystie Johnston and Dr. Manfred Jagiella Sustainability facilitates opportunity when approached with a mindset to preserve resources and promote circularity. We share one Earth, and it is our global responsibility to care for it for the next generation. Endress+Hauser is one global company that understands this responsibility – and practices it… Read More…