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Removing more nitrogen and phosphorus during wastewater treatment

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Removing more nitrogen and phosphorus during wastewater treatment

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Nitrogen and phosphorus compounds in wastewater before and after treatment
2000 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
2001 101.1 102.6 104.1 105.3
2002 101.5 95.8 107.0 105.5
2003 98.8 81.6 106.0 98.8
2004 99.4 81.1 107.7 96.6
2005 100.1 75.1 108.5 93.2
2006 101.3 65.8 107.8 91.2
2007 103.6 61.7 112.5 92.9
2008 105.4 58.1 112.4 89.7
2009 102.3 52.4 109.8 80.9
2010 103.7 57.3 104.4 78.2
2011 105.4 52.7 104.1 74.7
2012 105.1 52.5 101.2 72.6
2013 103.5 50.6 100.4 73.1
2014 105.8 48.7 101.7 76.6
2015 105.2 50.6 100.7 68.9
2016 109.7 49.7 100.8 62.2
2017 110.2 51.4 101.0 64.8
2018 111.1 48.4 100.1 58.9
2019 111.2 48.4 101.9 59.0
2020 110.6 48.2 100.0 54.9
2021 110.4 48.4 98.6 56.1
2022 109.1 43.6 97.3 53.7

In 2022, the Netherlands’ 313 wastewater treatment plants reduced wastewater treatment capacity by nearly 8% Sewage This decrease compared to 2021 is primarily due to the dry weather conditions that prevailed in 2022. Average precipitation decreased by 11%, resulting in less rainwater entering sewers.

Improving the handling of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds

Wastewater treatment plants try to remove as much nitrogen and phosphorus as possible from wastewater to prevent Eutrophication Surface water. In 2022, 86% of nitrogen compounds (92 million kg) were removed from treated surface water, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from 2021. In addition, 88% of phosphorus compounds (12.9 million kg) were removed from treated wastewater, a slight increase from 2021.

this Water treatment efficiency It has never been higher. This is partly due to the ongoing Improvement of water treatment processand because the amount of wastewater being treated is smaller, it means that wastewater treatment plants are able to treat wastewater more efficiently.

Reduce residual nitrogen and phosphorus emissions

In 2022, Residual emissions Nitrogen in treated wastewater (13 million kg) was almost 10% less than in 2021. For phosphorus, residual discharges fell by more than 4% to 1.6 million kg.

Zinc and copper residual emissions are more stable

In 2022, residual emissions of zinc (69,000 kg) decreased by 2% compared to 2021, and residual emissions of copper (9,000 kg) decreased by 10%. In recent years, the efficiency of zinc treatment has fluctuated around 83%, while that of copper is around 93%.

Zinc and copper are classified as Heavy Metals.These metals may be harmful to aquatic life in surface waters.

Zinc and copper compounds before and after wastewater treatment
2000 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
2002 105.31 97.54 93.79 100.31
2004 102.13 85.72 100.64 71.54
2006 99.34 74.96 95.34 53.66
2008 112.70 77.23 97.29 52.09
2010 104.93 84.62 92.68 49.54
2012 105.82 94.32 95.64 53.88
2014 90.66 72.37 90.86 45.58
2016 101.45 76.88 92.69 47.00
2018 100.04 65.55 88.28 47.25
2020 98.85 68.37 84.77 51.31
2022 88.15 68.61 73.54 49.77

Treated sewage still contributes significantly to water pollution

Total Nitrogen Surface water pollution In 2022, emissions from all sectors totalled 75 million kg. Of this, 17% was attributed to residual emissions from wastewater treatment plants. This was up from 15% in the previous year.

The total amount of phosphorus pollution in surface water was 6.2 million kilograms, of which 26% came from sewage treatment plants. This figure is higher than in 2021, when 22% came from water discharged from sewage treatment plants.

Meanwhile, agriculture contributed 43% of nitrogen and 47% of phosphorus, mainly due to the use of Mineral fertilizers.

The proportion of residual copper and zinc discharged from treatment plants remained stable

In 2022, the total amount of copper and zinc polluting surface water was 109,000 kg and 355,000 kg respectively. Among them, the contribution rate of residual discharge from sewage treatment to copper was 8%, and the contribution rate to zinc was 20%, which was basically the same as in 2021.

Surface water pollution, 2022
nitrogen 42.93 12.83 19.96 17.38 0.06 6.84
phosphorus 47.43 14.68 0.00 26.24 0.12 11.52
copper 10.57 2.49 3.25 8.15 58.39 17.15
Zinc 13.39 4.76 5.95 19.52 28.46 27.92
Data sources: CBS Netherlands, Netherlands Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR)

Treated sewage is virtually the only source of drug residues

Due to population growth and aging, the use of drugs and the resulting Drug residues It is slowly increasing. In 2018 alone, pharmacies prescribed around 1.9 million kg of active substances. The use of medicines creates drug residues that end up in the sewage system. In 2022, these residues amounted to around 1.4 million kg per year, half of which were laxatives such as polyethylene glycol and lactulose. The antidiabetic drug metformin was the second most common residue, at nearly 320,000 kg.

inside Netherlands Pollutant Release and Transfer Registerit is estimated that about 30 substances are discharged into surface water after treatment. Some of these residues (such as paracetamol) can be largely removed. However, on average 40% of active substances remain in the residual discharge from the sewage treatment plant.

Residual emissions of almost all substances increased by an average of 1% to 1.5% per year, in line with the aging and population growth.

Top five sources of pharmaceutical releases into surface water in 2022
Metformin¹⁾ 6900
Metoprolol²⁾ 2595
paracetamol 1170
Carbamazepine³⁾ 740
Diclofenac⁴⁾ 476
¹⁾ Antidiabetic drugs²⁾ Blood pressure medication³⁾ Anti-epileptic drugs⁴⁾ Pain medication

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