What is blue economy

Blu economy has been theorised by the Belgian economist Gunter Pauli in 2009. It is actually the proposal of a different development mode. The blue economy principles and example cases have been described in the book The Blue Economy: 10 years – 100 innovations – 100 million, then reissued some years later in a 2.0 edition and available on the organization’s website. The blue economy theory indicates it is possible to obtain more work, more incomes, more wellness with less investment for environment protection and in full compliance with the limits ant rhythms of nature. The crucial difference with the green economy is the initial assumption: the blue economy does not aim to reduce emissions, but to get to zero emissions, with a complete reversal of the point of view.

Technology that imitates nature

Environment protection is no longer a cost. Economy must be reconsidered in an integrated system, where an advanced technology ”imitates” chemical, physical, biological process according to the natural ecosystems’ functions Some features of the model are:

• Biomimicry: the reproduction of natural processes to improve human activities and technologies.
• Ripple effect: one resource produces multiple benefits
• Circular economy: by the total recovery of waste in different production cycles
• Bioeconomy: the economy based on natural resources retention.
• Enhancement of territory: the production system is local and is based on what the territory can offer.
• Social value: human capital is favourably involved in processes, generating social fairness
• Cultural value: system cannot disregard the respect of local culture and traditions.
• Diversity: the blue economy is based on the peculiarities of the territories, thus avoiding standardized and serial systems.

Examples of blue economy

It is the organization’s own site that provides many standard blue economy cases. In Italy, among the applications of the principles of the blue economy, we find for example the circular economy projects of Versalis by Eni. Also mentioned is the Matrica joint venture for production from renewable raw materials such as bioplastics.
Another Italian start-up that has consolidated a new business is Funghi Espresso which produces mushrooms using coffee waste as a culture medium.
Coming out of the Italian case studies mentioned by the organization, the purification of water itself through ecological technologies is a good example of a circular economy when water is reused, for example, in irrigation.

Certainly the blue economy poses serious questions and challenging themes. Such a paradigm shift implies a change of mentality that is not immediate, but there is no doubt about the need to pursue decisively in the protection of our planet.

L'articolo Blue Economy, natural solutions proviene da Allegri Ecologia.

The first is water waste: in 2019 the data reported that of the 248 liters taken per person per day, only 220 are actually consumed. The second gap concerns the “easy” use of the tap: from a recent study, our country is the first in Europe for consumption of drinking water for civil use, with about 160 cubic meters per inhabitant per year. We also have another sad record: in the old continent we are the leader for the use of bottled water, with about188 liters per capita per year and, even, we are second in the world. A premise that gives a clear overview of the use – and abuse – of water resources in Italy.

The climate crisis

If we broaden our gaze, and move from the Italian to the world situation, there is another factor that affects the water resource: the climate crisis. In these first months of 2020 there was a drop in rainfall of -75% and an increase in temperature of about 1.65 degrees compared to the historical average. An overview that can take on the traits of urgency if not taken into account.

Water emergency: investments needed

Returning to Italy, Utilitalia – the Federation of Water Companies – which a few days ago presented the now customary “manual drought”. The data speak for themselves: the risk we are facing is a future water emergency that needs to be stemmed from the outset through massive intervention.

There is a need to work on several levels: reducing consumption, reducing waste, modernizing infrastructure and promoting reuse. These last two points need to be addressed. The water network in Italy has a strong element of criticality: the “old age”. 25% of water infrastructure is 50 years old and 60% has reached 30. Another emblematic fact is that on the “recycling” of water: every year in Italy only 2% of wastewater is reused. The use of purified water for non-domestic uses must become a main theme: a sustainability plan is needed where purified water is used more decisively; for example in agriculture, a sector that now uses more than 50% of the water.

All necessary interventions amount to an investment plan for Italy of about 7.2 billion (of which 3.9 in the South and islands, 1.9 in the Centre and 1.3 in the North). We need to work quickly to secure networks and cope with an increasingly accelerated climate change. For our part, we need to use the water resource with greater awareness, implementing responsible behaviors and conscious uses, in order to preserve it.

L'articolo The water situation in Italy. Towards a future emergency? proviene da Allegri Ecologia.

The closed water cycle

The integrated water cycle goes through the phases of picking, use, purification, reuse. Wastewater in this perspective becomes a valuable resource, as highlighted in 2017 by the Unesco Report: “Wastewater. The unexplored resource.”

The report highlights the great worldwide exploitation of water resources where 44% is consumed in agriculture by evaporation from irrigation, 56% return to the environment from civil, industrial and agricultural waste drains. While high-income countries purify the water by 70%, as incomes fall, so does the proportion of sewage wastewater. Overall, it is estimated that 80% of the world’s water is returned to the environment without adequate purification. In addition to potential environmental and sanitation emergencies, we can see the great potential of reusing water purified in agriculture, industry and drinking water as a source of raw materials.

The centrality of the data

Setting goals for protecting water resources and reusing waste to combat water scarcity, in line with current European environmental and health policies, necessarily means first of all having an up-to-date, clear, comprehensive statistical picture on water resources. Only from the data can appropriate strategies be established.

In Italy, in this direction, it is the ISTAT itselfthat declares the difficulty in obtaining national data organized in an overall framework, largely due to the fragmentation of management.

The state of the sewage treatment in Italy

But what is the state of the art of purification in Italy? The ISTAT makes a three-year census, the next step is the year 2018 of which the data were collected in the current year. The data available are therefore those of 2015, as also reported in a recent ISTAT report: “Use and quality of water resource in Italy”.

There are 17,897 operating plants. The North is the territory with the most plants: in order in Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Veneto. 46.8% are Imhoff tanks, 44.2% secondary or advanced plants, 9% primary plants. Lombardy and Veneto have many advanced plants. Although – proportionally – the South and Islands also have high rates of advanced treatments. However, advanced plants, although not majority, deal with more than half (66.7%) polluting loads.

By estimating potential waste on the basis of the urban total equivalent inhabitants and comparing them with what is actually purified, there is still a gap. The demand for sewage is about 98 million equivalent inhabitants, compared to 75 million served.

Civilian-type polluting loads are treated at least secondary to the extent of 59.6% of their potential. The percentage is 64.6% in the North-West, lower the percentages in other areas of Italy with differences from Region to Region.

Large plants, mainly in the North-West, purify 61.4% of the purified load in terms of equivalent inhabitants and are predominantly tertiary/advanced. As for discharges, they occur at sea (16.7%) surface water (80.3%).

Also interesting are the specific data of the coastal municipalities. The quality of bathing water is excellent for 91.9% of the total monitored, but 42 municipalities lack public sewage treatment plant, almost all in the South.

Demands and sanctions from Europe

Since 1991, through a specific EEC Directive, Europe has been calling on member states to adapt wastewater treatment plants and sewage systems. This year Italy was sanctioned with 25 million euros for non-adjustment of 74 urban areas. And other infringement procedures are ongoing.

If you look at these figures and look at the disparities between North and South, it is clear that the situation in Italy is complex and needs integrated, cohesive, coherent actions, not only to ensure purification standards throughout the territory. A concrete policy of the integrated water cycle is needed, with adequate investment from both the public and private sectors.

L'articolo State of wastewater purification in Italy proviene da Allegri Ecologia.

This will be discussed at Ecomondo, the fair scheduled in Rimini from 5 to 8 November, dedicated to the industrial and technological innovation of the circular economy.

From linear to circular

The linear economic model, based on “produce–consume-dispose”, is no longer sustainable, even applying the principle of efficiency to reduce the consumption of natural resources.

Better, rather, is thecircular economy, “designed to regenerate itself”, as the authoritative Ellen MacArthur Foundation calls it. In the virtuous circle, the flows of materials are of two types: biological – able to be reintegrated into the biosphere – and technical, destined to be revalued without entering the biosphere.

The integrated water cycle

Among the resources of the planet in danger, the closest to man is water, indispensable for his life, as well as for the entire ecosystem. The scientific community has been preparing for al long time the integrated water cycle model, alternative to the linear one of capture-consumption-disposal.

The global business giants, meanwhile, are not watching and are confronting each other to seize the business opportunities offered by this strand. Suffice it to say that in Italy, at present, it is estimated that 777 million turnover, 386 million euros and 4000 jobs are due to the circularity of the integrated water service.

A topical topic today is the enhancement of wastewater and sewage sludge – particularly for the production of bioplastics – to the point that even the 2017 edition of the United Nations Water Development Report had the title “Wastewater: The Untapped Resource”.

Bioplastics from sewage sludge

The production of biopolymers for the production of bioplastics from the treatment of sewage sludge also appeals to Italian universities. High-quality trials have been taking place in our country for some time, with public and private partners allied to this race to reuse waste products from the water cycle.

Disposal according to principles in line with the circular economy is a virtuous business model, which has already obtained funding from the European Commission, as a response to the growing need for disposal. The production of the sewage sludge to which the Union will arrive is estimated at 13 million tons.

In the complex treatments to which sewage sludge is subjected, a key role is assigned to bacterial fermentation. The polymers obtained include various biological, chemical and thermal processes that lead to biodegradable and reusable end products also in the field of building materials.

Italian criticism

The important advances in science counterpoint a critical reality of water management and use in Italy. Drought water shortages are exacerbated by water dispersal in water networks, an endemic waste in the country.

There is still a long way to go to spread a culture of respect for water, even public. Starting with the one that enters the houses from the taps. According to Censis data, few use it for drinking, preferring bottled bottles: 30 million plastic and 7 glass bottles are used every day. Which means that in one year in Italy 13 and a half billion bottles become waste.

L'articolo The circular economy of water. New life for biological waste. proviene da Allegri Ecologia.

Treatment and disposal of sewage sludge

Before being disposed of, sludge can undergo various treatments to stabilize the organic component, to reduce the presence of water and increase the dry component.
Depending on the origin and quality of the sludge, the bestowal may be in an incinerator, in landfill for special waste or in agriculture as fertilizers.

Disposal of sludge in agriculture in Italy

Among the ways of disposing of sludge, in Italy reuse in agriculture affects about 30% of the sludge produced.
Treated sludge is allowed to stabilise organic components, they must not contain harmful or toxic substances and remain within certain thresholds for substances such as heavy metals.

The 1992 Decree governing the sector was joined by regional initiatives and intervention by the Supreme Court which sometimes created conflicting situations in the management of sludge; as recently in Lombardy, where stalls in disposals have been created, reducing the supply to agriculture and on the other hand not making it possible to resort massively to incinerator or landfill.

The latest developments

The issue of sludge in agriculture is a contentious issue because it clashes with the protection of the environmentand soil, as well as with the safety of agricultural products. And in recent months the debate in Italy has been intense.

This comparison of different positions is part of a recent state intervention withArticle 41 of the so-called “Genova Decree”. With this regulatory initiative, the limits allowed for the presence of hydrocarbons in sludge for agriculture have been increased in an attempt to keep the disposal needs together and environmental protection. In the absence of a comprehensive regulatory framework, the risk is that of excessive storage, which is also risky. However, these new limits have been criticized by environmental groups for increasing the permissible threshold under the previous Supreme Court ruling in 2017.

More recently Alessandro Bratti, Director General of the Ispra (Institute for Environmental Protection and Research), has been critical of the use of sludge in agriculture, especially if mixed, i.e. if they come from both urban and industrial wastewater, due to the risk of dispersion of pollutants.
But, according to Alessandro Bratti, the regulatory framework is still to be defined and deepened, especially with regard to traceability and controls. This is in the face of European countries that have decided to ban sludge altogether in agriculture, believing that there are more risks than benefits.

If sludge can be a resource in reuse, an overall picture of the real costs and benefits of their disposal in agriculture is needed, as part of a comprehensive review of the regulatory framework that ensures safety for people and environmental protection.

L'articolo Spreading and reusing sludge in agriculture proviene da Allegri Ecologia.

How much water we waste

Italy tops Europe in the dismal ranking of water waste. It is a simple but disarming calculation: water is taken for 428 liters per day, but about 220 litres are consumed. Where does the water that is missing from the appeal end? Nearly half (47.9%) are dispersed from distribution networks. This important loss of water resources further exacerbates the general situation of water shortages mainly due to drought.

According to ISTAT in the latest report on the state of the water in Italy, 10.4% of households complain of irregularities in the supply of water. But the overall percentage is to be analyzed on the territory: in the South and in the Islands there are greater problems and higher the number of households dissatisfied with the water supply. This is reflected in the analysis of confidence in water quality: higher in the North, low in the South. And there were 11 capitals in 2017 – almost all of them in the South – that had to live with water rationing.

An old water network

The main problem lies in the state of the network that distributes water in our country, from sources of supply to house taps. The pipes are old, cutlery decades ago (a 25% even is 50 years old). It has been estimated that it takes 5 billion a year to renew water networks in line with modern standards, including as a use of materials. In fact, they spend a lot less, and at this rate it would take 250 years to make the water network efficient. The UN, for its part, sets water protection as a key goal of sustainable development. And Europe does not fail to sanction us, as for the failure to comply with European rules on the adaptation of sewers and sewage treatment plants, with multimillion-dollar fines.

Water management in Italy

It would therefore require radical renewal and constant maintenance, and the problem seems to be the costs in relation to the current management system. The Italian management scene in Italy is diverse, entirely public or mixed public-private, to a decidedly minorityly entirely private one. A complex situation, often at the heart of the political debate.
A study by the CERRE – Centre on Regulation in Europe argues that the problem is not in the system, whether public or private, but in regulation that stimulates the correct investment: the presence of an independent body, both from the public and private, seems to be productive in this regard, as evidenced by the experience of many OECD countries.

What can we do then? As citizens and entrepreneurs we can demand quality water, managed responsibly, avoiding senseless waste. Not forgetting to exercise it we first exercise that responsibility, day by day. Our future is at the fore.

L'articolo The dispersal of water in water networks: an Italian emergency proviene da Allegri Ecologia.

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Leader exhibition in the world for environmental technologies

Monaco (Germany), 14 – 18 May 2018

https://www.ifat.de

H2O

International water exhibition

Bologna (Italy) , 17 – 19 October 2018

http://www.accadueo.com

WATEC ITALY

Water Technology and Environmental Control Exhibition & Conference

Cremona (Italy), 24 – 27 October 2018

www.watecitaly.com

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For further information: New Chiarflus® CI

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