Aquatech innovation award for ingenious processing hospital waste

The award was presented to Grontmij Nederland and Pharmafilter BV during the opening ceremony of Aquatech Amsterdam 2008 – a leading exhibition in the process, drinking and waste water technology sectors.

The jury praised the new concept for the way it combines all waste streams within a hospital rather than being restricted to water purification alone. The core principle is that the various waste streams are centrally digested with organic waste, which together supplies significantly more sustainable biogas energy. The Pharmafilter is a solution for three environmental challenges: Clean water, reducing waste and countering climate change.

According to jury chairman Cees Buisman, scientific director of the Wetsus water technology research centre in Leeuwarden (NL), the Pharmafilter is a showcase example of today’s advanced water technology for the way it goes further than addressing the purification of waste water.

“There was some debate among the jury as to whether the Pharmafilter is actually a ‘water’ product, but its impact on surface water is so significant that we agreed that the filter system was the most innovative of all the entries."

Pharmafilter is an American patented purification system from Pharmafilter Company. The concept of fermentation (anaerobic digestion) and waste water purification is currently being further developed by environmental and engineering consultancy firm Grontmij and the Reinier de Graaf hospital in Delft (NL), with a focus on the processing of hospital waste. Disposable bedpans made of bioplastics, their contents and kitchen refuse are placed in a shredder. The mix of bioplastic, urine and leftover food is processed in a digester tank and converted to biogas.

The remaining wastewater is purified in a membrane bioreactor, while ozonation and activated carbon remove every trace of medicines and hormone disrupting agents. A trial installation is currently being tested at the Delft hospital.

In addition to the Pharmafilter, the jury found that all entries for the Aquatech Innovation Award were exceptionally innovative. “This represents a major development for the water market,” Buisman continues: "Innovation in the water sector is driven by pressure, whether from crises such as legionnaires’ disease, the introduction of new European regulations on wastewater, or the desire to attain the millennium development goals. These bursts of innovation are increasing as the attention for water continues to rise.”