Collective reuse of wastewater in the Antwerp chemical cluster

VITO, in collaboration with Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Antea Group, and essenscia, is exploring how chemical companies can use treated wastewater as an alternative water source In the Port of Antwerp. CHERISH2O brings companies together to collectively reuse water, with the aim of reducing dependence on freshwater and making the industry more resilient to drought.

Why this is necessary

The chemical sector in the Port of Antwerp consumes large volumes of water and is under increasing pressure from water scarcity and stricter regulations. At the same time, a significant amount of treated wastewater is discharged. Individual solutions often hit technical and economic limits. By looking at water flows on a larger scale, new opportunities arise: companies can use treated wastewater from neighbouring companies and thus manage available resources more efficiently.

From water flows to working networks

CHERISH2O maps out the water flows of companies and identifies where exchange is possible. Based on water quality, volumes, and needs, concrete clusters of water suppliers and users are selected.

The project tests this approach in practice through pilot tests with mixed wastewater flows. This requires a sequence of different treatment technologies: pre-filtration, ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and concentrate treatment. In parallel, it is explored which forms of collaboration and business models are needed to make collective water reuse feasible on a larger scale.

VITO's Contribution

VITO directs the technical and economic development towards upscaling. Together with companies, VITO evaluates the water flows and develops methodologies to select optimal collective water networks. Through an extensive pilot setup with mobile purification containers, VITO tests the selected purification technologies and solutions for residual flows such as concentrate. Additionally, VITO substantiates the economic feasibility and investigates feasible business models for implementation on an industrial scale.

Project Partners

The project team consists of VITO, essenscia, Antea Group, VMM, and Port of Antwerp-Bruges, in collaboration with various Antwerp chemical companies (Lanxess, INEOS, ExxonMobil, Evonik, Envalior, Borealis, Bayer, BASF, 3M, TotalEnergies, Monument Chemicals, and Ashland). Additionally, the project receives financial support from the Flemish Blue Deal resources.