In partnership with Chaux de Contern, clean-tech innovator APATEQ has been awarded a first contract in Luxembourg by waste management regional authority SIGRE to extend and modernise the existing plant for the treatment of leachate arising from the central landfill in Buchholz-Muertendall; the resulting water will be discharged to the municipal wastewater treatment plant in Grevenmacher.

APATEQ announced this week the receipt of a first order from its domestic market Luxembourg. The clean-tech company was founded in 2013 in Luxembourg and since then successfully engineers, manufactures and delivers innovative and cost-efficient, membrane-based solutions for the treatment of water and wastewater to customers around the world, such as in the USA, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Italy and France.

APATEQ received this new order in partnership with Chaux de Contern, market-leading producer, importer and distributor of building materials in Luxembourg and the Greater Region, which was involved in the building of more than 70 wastewater treatment plants within the last 40 years. Customer of the new contract is the Luxembourg waste management regional authority SIGRE. The order refers to APATEQ’s unique leachate treatment system, combining proprietary process technologies with high efficiency ultrafiltration and activated carbon filtration. APATEQ’s system will extend and modernise the existing plant for leachate treatment. The effluent is planned to be discharged to the municipal wastewater treatment plant in Grevenmacher, being currently built.

Landfill leachate consists of liquids created by organic and inorganic waste decomposition and rainwater seeping into the landfill. Typically, leachate is loaded for example with organic matter (COD, BOD) or ammonium. To protect surrounding soil, ground water and surface water, safe disposal of the leachate is undeniably an environmental challenge”, stated APATEQ Chief Technology Officer Ulrich Bäuerle. “By means of our membrane-based technology, the contaminants can be reliably removed at low operational costs.”

We are delighted that APATEQ now finally enters the domestic Luxembourg market after successfully positioning and marketing its unique water and wastewater treatment solutions internationally”, said Chaux de Contern CEO Eric Klückers. “The cooperation between our companies is characterised by the strong synergies of an established market leader and an emerging clean-tech innovator, a combination which is very inspiring and fruitful for both of us.”

Steff Schaeler, Managing Director of SIGRE, said: “To ensure a proper, failure-free functioning of our modern waste management system, SIGRE depends on reliable partners with sustainable solutions, of course at competitive costs. With the leachate treatment solution offered by APATEQ and with the solid references of its team members in this domain, we are confident to build a strong, local partnership for many years to come.”

The up-grade of the plant in Buchholz-Muertendall is scheduled to be finalized by October 2016.

Photo by Geoff Thompson