Alfa Laval's membrane technology enables compliance with EU's revised “Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive”

As the EU prepares to ratify its revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive in 2024, Alfa Laval is providing solutions to meet the new standards. The company's latest installation in Norway will showcase its membrane technology, enabling compliance with the updated directive. Here are three key takeaways:

• With the revised directive wastewater operators will be obliged to recover nutrients from wastewater, adapt new standards for micropollutants and monitoring requirements for microplastics.
   
• The installation in Norway will illustrate Alfa Laval's membrane separation technology's ability to improve water quality and remove harmful pollutants such as microplastics, pharmaceutical residues and "forever chemicals" known as PFAS.
   
• The revised directive will change the demands and standards for wastewater treatment across the EU, making solutions like Alfa Laval's more important than ever.

"The strengthened standards will increase the demand for new treatment techniques and technologies for handling these harmful micropollutants," says Nish Patel, President of the Food & Water Division at Alfa Laval and continues; “Our membrane separation technology improves water quality and meet the new requirements. Our solutions are also energy-efficient, thereby contributing to the EU objective for the sector to reach energy neutrality.”

The Sarpsborg plant, which will become operational in 2027, will be a state-of-the-art energy-neutral facility. It will ensure clean water for the inhabitants around the Oslo Fjord by cleaning municipal wastewater and removing harmful micro-pollutants before they reach the fjord.

Did you know…  Alfa Laval has an extensive product portfolio for wastewater treatment, handling different steps in the process like sludge treatment, dewatering, cleaning, and water re-use? Its advanced membranes can even filter particles as small as 0.1 micrometers, including microplastics.

About EU’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive
Since the adoption of the EU’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive in 1991, the quality of European rivers, lakes and seas has dramatically improved. However, this 30-year-old directive does not address pollution caused by storm water overflows or micropollutants such as residues from pharmaceuticals and cosmetics - which have a detrimental effect on nature. Therefore, in October 2022, the Commission initiated a revision of the Directive adapting it to the newest standards. Once adopted, they will take effect progressively.

With the revised directive, wastewater operators will not only continue to be responsible for collecting, treating, monitoring and properly discharging urban wastewater, they will also be obliged to recover nutrients from wastewater, adapt new standards for micropollutants and monitoring requirements for microplastics. The strengthened standards will increase the demand for new treatment techniques and technologies for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

• Press release, 26 October, 2022,

“European Green Deal: Commission proposes rules for cleaner air and water”

• Fact sheet, 26 October, 2022,

New rules on treating urban wastewater

About Alfa Laval membrane technology
To learn more about Alfa Laval's solutions for wastewater treatment, visit our website www.alfalaval.com

This is Alfa Laval
Alfa Laval is a world leader in heat transfer, centrifugal separation and fluid handling, and is active in the areas of Energy, Marine, and Food & Water, offering its expertise, products, and service to a wide range of industries in some 100 countries. The company is committed to optimizing processes, creating responsible growth, and driving progress to support customers in achieving their business goals and sustainability targets.

Alfa Laval’s innovative technologies are dedicated to purifying, refining, and reusing materials, promoting more responsible use of natural resources. They contribute to improved energy efficiency and heat recovery, better water treatment, and reduced emissions. Thereby, Alfa Laval is not only accelerating success for its customers, but also for people and the planet. Making the world better, every day.

Alfa Laval has 20,300 employees. Annual sales in 2022 were SEK 52.1 billion (approx. EUR 4.9 billion). The company is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.

                          www.alfalaval.com