Making Wastewater Treatment a Climate Solution

Here at Aquacycl, we believe wastewater IS a climate solution. There is a direct connection between carbon and water, where we see the effects of climate change showing up largely through water, with either too much (floods, hurricanes, monsoons) or too little (drought, aridification, wildfires). On the other side of the coin, water and wastewater utilities account for 4% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, of which 70% is caused by wastewater treatment.

Surprisingly, wastewater is often left out of plans that address corporate water strategy and ESG goals despite the fact that most organizations recognize the need for sustainable practices.

That's where we come in. Aquacycl helps you boost your ESG profile and ensure sustainable wastewater treatment by achieving environmental benefits that include reduced energy use, water reuse, and increased clean water for use by the communities you serve. Wastewater is often the key to achieving both your carbon and water goals and build resiliency in your operations.

Forward-looking businesses are putting sustainability at the center of their business decisions and looking at all areas of their operations for ways to reduce GHG emissions and improve water management, including wastewater. We can help achieve reductions across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions:

• Scope 1 covers direct emissions from company-owned resources. Our wastewater treatment systems produce 90% lower emissions than alternative treatment technologies and have no methane emissions.
• Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from energy purchased from a utility. Our systems are energy-neutral, so utilizing an Aquacycl onsite treatment system will not increase your Scope 2 emissions. We can also enhance the efficiency of anaerobic digesters to produce up to 30% more biogas for energy re-generation.
• Scope 3 covers indirect emissions that occur in your value chain. This is the most challenging category, because it includes many emissions that may be out of your control—including trucking of wastewater outside of direct operations, emissions created by suppliers or by the utility treating your wastewater and any other emissions that are not covered by scope 1 or 2. With onsite, energy-neutral treatment, you can eliminate offsite hauling and minimize the emissions from your discharge, significantly trimming down those Scope 3 emissions.

Wastewater is also a great resource for achieving water efficiency goals, as there is no water to waste. While every portion of your process may be optimized for efficient water use, reductions to water-use can only go so far, the only way to reach best-in-class efficiency is to turn to the process water you discharge.

• No More Dilution: As companies decrease water-use, their wastewater becomes more concentrated, which often means dilution is required before treatment with traditional technologies. Aquacycl is able to treat ultra high-strength industrial wastewater without dilution to help maintain low water-use ratios.
• Enable Water Reuse: Process water that reaches reuse quality standards can be utilized for many non-potable part of your process. Aquacycl’s system enables onsite reuse by removing the organics and solids in the wastewater, without dilution, then utilizing a compliment technology to achieve final quality standards.

By working closely with you to leverage the capabilities of our patented wastewater treatment technology, we'll help you sustainably lower your GHG emissions, reduce energy demand, ensure water discharge quality and enable cost-effective water reuse.