What is the direction of sewage resource utilization? Listen to the voices of the representatives of the two sessions

    In early 2021, ten ministries and commissions, including the national development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of science and technology, the Ministry of industry and information technology, the Ministry of finance, the Ministry of natural resources, the Ministry of ecological environment, the Ministry of housing and urban rural development, the Ministry of water resources, the Ministry of agriculture and rural areas, and the General Administration of market supervision, jointly issued the guidance on promoting the utilization of sewage resources. The "opinions" pointed out that at present, the utilization of sewage resources in China is still in its infancy, with insufficient development and low utilization level, and there is still a big gap with the needs of building a beautiful China. Therefore, it is necessary to accelerate the utilization of sewage resources, solve the problems of water shortage, water environmental pollution and water ecological damage, and promote high-quality and sustainable development. The opinions put forward three key areas to promote the utilization of sewage resources, namely urban domestic sewage, industrial sewage and agricultural and rural sewage.

     At the just held two sessions, members of the National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) also spoke about the utilization of sewage resources

    Qiao Xu, member of the National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference: vigorously develop membrane separation technology and promote the resource utilization of industrial sewage

     At this year's two sessions, Qiao Xu, member of the CPPCC National Committee and President of Nanjing University of technology, brought a proposal on "the state's strong support for the development of membrane separation technology and the promotion of industrial wastewater resource utilization", suggesting that membrane separation technology should be used to overcome the difficulties of wastewater resource utilization.

     Membrane separation technology is a new technology which takes separation membrane as the core to separate, concentrate and purify substances. It can maintain the original color, aroma, taste, nutrition and taste of food, and maintain the activity of functional ingredients. Qiao Xu said that membrane separation technology is an effective means of water purification and wastewater recycling, and plays an irreplaceable role in the utilization of industrial wastewater. There are many models in the world.

     Compared with the traditional treatment methods, membrane separation technology can greatly reduce pollutant emissions, especially in the areas of printing and dyeing, leather, electroplating, coking, brewing, etc., which can not meet the standards, so as to achieve the goal of "eating dry and squeezing clean" and realize resource recycling. At present, the amount of reclaimed water in China is less than 15% of urban sewage discharge, which has great potential for development and utilization.

     Qiao Xu suggested that the first is to encourage the innovation and promotion of membrane technology, and speed up the key technology research of industrial wastewater treatment. Facing the practical problems of industrial wastewater treatment in China, we should strengthen the research and development of efficient membrane separation integrated technology with low cost, high performance and long life, enhance the international competitiveness and leading force of membrane technology, and catch up with and surpass the leading level of developed countries. Set up guiding fund, strengthen industrial cooperation and optimal allocation of resources, strengthen the promotion of membrane technology, form the industrial chain and ecological chain of water resources comprehensive treatment based on membrane separation integration process, build industrial agglomeration area, and expand industrial innovation chain and industrial coverage.

    The second is to strengthen discipline construction and cultivate talents for membrane technology R & D and industrialization.

     Focus on major needs such as membrane technology and equipment, and lay out in advance in discipline construction and specialty setting. Support the construction of first-class disciplines in Colleges and universities with the characteristics of membrane technology to solve industrial wastewater recycling, support the establishment of talent joint training projects between colleges and universities and backbone enterprises, Industrialization Bases and local governments in the field of membrane science and technology, and improve the standard system of wastewater recycling utilization. Study and revise the standards of equipment, engineering and operation related to the utilization of sewage resources, and form the classification and quality standards, evaluation standards and regulatory standards for the utilization of sewage resources. This paper studies the statistical method and system of sewage resource utilization, the evaluation method and standard of sewage resource utilization benefit, and forms a scientific and unified statistical system.

Cheng Hanfei, deputy to the National People's Congress, suggested that more efficient water saving be promoted by economic leverage

    On the occasion of this year's two sessions, Cheng Hanfei, deputy to the National People's Congress and chief engineer of MCC eco environmental protection group Co., Ltd., submitted suggestions on further strengthening water resources management and control.

Less than 15% of reclaimed water

     It is understood that the resource utilization of sewage mainly refers to that sewage, after harmless treatment, reaches specific water quality standards and is used as reclaimed water instead of conventional water resources for industrial production, municipal miscellaneous use, residents' life, ecological water supplement, agricultural irrigation, groundwater recharge, etc., as well as extracting other resources and energy from sewage.

     According to the opinions, by 2025, the utilization rate of reclaimed water in cities with water shortage at prefecture level or above will reach more than 25%, and that in Beijing Tianjin Hebei region will reach more than 35%.

     Cheng Hanfei provided a set of data. Since the 13th five year plan, China's urbanization rate and GDP have maintained rapid growth. The annual total water consumption is controlled within 670 billion cubic meters, and there is no synchronous growth. However, relevant industry reports and statistics also show that China's reclaimed water consumption is less than 15% of the urban sewage discharge.

It is expected to bring 100 billion market space in the next five years

     "With the continuous growth of population, the increasing demand for water in the fields of food and ecological security, and the continuous growth of GDP, the imbalance between the supply and demand of water resources in China has become prominent, and even has become one of the key factors restricting development." Cheng Hanfei said.

     The "opinions" clearly pointed out that in the urban, industrial, agricultural and rural areas, sewage resource utilization should be carried out systematically, with water shortage areas and water environment sensitive areas as the focus, urban domestic sewage resource utilization as the breakthrough point, and industrial utilization and ecological water supplement as the main way to comprehensively promote the high-quality development of sewage resource utilization in China.

     In recent years, some areas have begun to take action. According to the data released recently by Beijing Municipal Bureau of ecological environment, by 2020, 142 sections of black and odorous water bodies in Beijing have been renovated, and the annual utilization of reclaimed water has increased to 1.15 billion cubic meters; Guangzhou has accelerated the construction of new sewage pipe network and sewage treatment plant, and the utilization rate of reclaimed water in the city has exceeded 35%; Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, has used the high-quality reclaimed water from the riverside sewage treatment plant for ecological water replenishment, which can be regenerated in one year Water reuse exceeds 40 million cubic meters.

     According to the estimation of relevant institutions, the scale of reclaimed water in China is expected to reach 85 million cubic meters per day in 2025. In the next five years, through the transformation of existing sewage treatment plants and the construction of new reclaimed water plants, it is expected to bring 100 billion level market space for related fields.

Plan, tax and control

In order to alleviate the contradiction of water resources and promote the green development of economy and society, Cheng Hanfei puts forward some suggestions

The first is to formulate a plan for water resources peaking and balancing.

    According to the carrying capacity of water resources, the upper limit of the peak value of water resources can be set. According to the economic and social development of the provincial administrative region, the quota of water resources can be allocated as a whole. The quota of water resources can be exchanged orderly, effectively and with value. The guidance of water resources balance plan should be issued to scientifically guide the effective balance of water resources in various administrative regions and industries.

Second, optimize the collection and use of water resources tax. Summing up the experience of water resources tax pilot, each administrative region uses water within the quota of water resources, and pays water resources tax according to the amount used.

     Explore the establishment of stepped water resources tax within the water resources quota to promote more efficient water saving with economic leverage. The Department in charge of water resources shall examine and approve the indicators of excess water resources strictly and orderly, and pay higher water resources tax for the use of excess water resources. The collected water resource tax is used for water-saving compensation within the quota. According to the amount of water resources saved, ladder compensation is implemented. As an effective supplement to ecological compensation, green ecology is transformed into value and regional balanced development is promoted.

Third, strengthen the control of ecological water transfer.

     The ecological water transfer is included in the management and control system of water resources quota, and the ecological water transfer quota value is determined according to the ecological water demand, so as to realize the "balance" of water transfer and water withdrawal and pay water resources tax within the quota. Strictly prevent ecological water diversion from being used for other purposes, strictly monitor the quality change of water resources, and the quality of return water for ecological water diversion should not be inferior to that of water diversion. If the water quality deteriorates due to special circumstances, the penalty fee should be paid according to the deteriorating water quality factors and water resources.

Fourth, optimize the scope of unified development and management of water resources. 

     Unconventional water source utilization is very important for water resource balance. It is suggested that the on-site utilization of unconventional water sources should be included in the unified development and management of water resources. For the utilization of rainwater and sewage resources, compensation should be made according to the value of the quota index of water resources according to the amount of conventional water resources saved.