From May 13 to 17, 2024, the world's leading trade fair IFAT gathered around 120,000 visitors from over 100 countries in Munich to find out about developments in the industry. In Hall A2 at Stand 105, the Austrian VTA Group presented pioneering applications for the purification of wastewater and drinking water. In the VTA Liquid Engineering process series for optimizing and increasing the operational reliability of wastewater treatment plants, VTA Nanocarbon® was presented to the specialist audience as the latest innovation by founder Ing. Mag. Dr. h. c. Ulrich Kubinger.
New EU directive on the treatment of municipal wastewater
The increasing pollution of water with contaminating substances is considered to be one of the most urgent environmental problems of the coming decades. For some time now, trace substances have been analyzed in wastewater in the DACH region in concentrations that exceed the health orientation values (GOW) of the Drinking Water Ordinance. In this respect, there is a considerable need for action to reduce the input of pollutants such as antidepressants, antiepileptics and painkillers into surface waters and untreated water. At present, wastewater treatment plants do not retain sufficient quantities of these endocrine pollutants. The EU Urban Waste Water Directive therefore obliges all member states to comply with 80 percent of the required average elimination rate of defined micropollutants.
To achieve these environmental targets, the new EU directive sets standards for a fourth treatment stage in municipal wastewater treatment plants, which requires modernization. The additional purification stage has hardly been implemented in Germany to date. Experts estimate the costs of retrofitting sewage treatment plants to be extremely high, as are the operating costs due to the considerable additional energy required. The simultaneous energy neutrality of wastewater treatment plants by 2045, also stipulated by the EU, is also problematic.
Marc Beckett, researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute, visited the VTA stand to find out more about the company's patented ultrasonic treatment of wastewater.
An evolution in biophysics: VTA Nanocarbon®
In view of the high demands placed on municipal wastewater treatment plants by the new EU regulations, VTA has developed an application that represents the fourth treatment stage and largely replaces structural and mechanical extensions. The liquid engineering process using VTA Nanocarbon® achieves high trace substance elimination rates with minimal dosing quantities without expensive investments in the conversion and expansion of wastewater treatment plants or the energy-intensive operation of an additional treatment stage. VTA Nanocarbon® is added to existing wastewater treatment plants, where it ensures the extensive removal of anthropogenic trace substances and microplastic particles. At up to 93 percent, VTA Nanocarbon® even exceeds the average elimination rate of 80 percent of certain pollutants required by EU regulations. At the same time, the process can save up to 30 percent energy for aeration and just as much CO2.
"At VTA, we think in cycles. We not only clean wastewater to turn it into usable water, but also pay attention to the environment as a whole," comments Ulrich Kubinger, CEO of the VTA Group, on his holistic approach.
As the latest development in the VTA Liquid Engineering series, VTA Nanocarbon® marks a significant advance in wastewater treatment.
VTA was among the sponsors of the World Water Skills Awards 2024
In 2024, IFAT Munich once again offered action areas for the DWA's promotion of young talent. Young teams competed against each other in practical tests under the supervision of industry experts. The winners were presented with the World Water Skills Awards in their specialist areas on two evenings during the trade fair. The VTA Group is one of the sponsors of the competition, which has been held since 2010.
VTA's work is dedicated to a sustainable future
Under the trend term "water stress", the increase in water consumption contrasts with the fluctuations in availability caused by climate change. Efficient and careful use and recycling of this scarce resource is therefore becoming increasingly important.
The VTA Group was founded in 1992 by Dr. h. c. Ulrich Kubinger. Today, with over 400 employees worldwide, its own research department and over 100 patents for new processes, the company is regarded as an innovation leader in the industry. At its headquarters in Rottenbach, Austria, and at six other locations in Europe, VTA produces ecologically compatible high-end processes for the safe and economical optimization of wastewater treatment. Its customers already include thousands of municipal wastewater treatment plants as well as various branches of industry. In over 65 countries, the VTA Group is currently successfully helping to ensure that wastewater is treated for around 250 million people every day.
VTA's international team serves customers in over 65 countries worldwide.
