How do AVK products contribute to protecting the environment?

As the climate changes, we adapt and find new ways to live and thrive. These adaptations have an impact on our planet and ultimately trigger changes in the environment.

The UN estimates that by 2030, up to 700 million people will be displaced by water, either due to excess or lack of it. This will significantly impact existing infrastructure, water systems will be overstretched and unable to handle more users, and if water resources are insufficient, the challenge is even greater.

The UN General Assembly has defined 17 sustainable development goals, making sustainability and the circular economy a central topic on the international agenda. To prevent dangerous climate change, the EU has committed itself under the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and to achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century. This may seem like a small step, but the idea is to find and implement green solutions, facilities and systems that create jobs and are transferable.

With these important data in mind, our partner AVK proposes a series of solutions that contribute to reducing greenhouse gases.

Control water losses and avoid unnecessary energy consumption.
Water losses lead to unnecessary energy consumption. Energy consumption directly depends on the amount of water that needs to be pumped into the network. In other words, the lower the loss, the less energy you will need and consequently consume. The International Energy Agency has calculated that an average municipality will spend 30-50% of its energy on providing water services. In other words, the potential savings from optimizing water supply and wastewater networks are huge.

AVK can contribute to the realization of a modern water supply system, in which the distribution pipe network is divided into smaller areas, so-called DMAs, in which valves play a crucial role. Each DMA must be isolated so that there is no water leakage from one area to another. Each DMA has one or maximum two inputs defined as an individually metered source. This allows us to track the amount of water entering each DMA. When we compare this amount with the amount consumed, we have an indication of the level of losses. If much more water is registered at the entrance to the DMA than is ultimately consumed, this indicates leakage and water losses. If the difference is caused by water flowing through a valve to the neighboring DMA, this does not represent an actual loss of water. Therefore, it is essential to be able to trust the available information, but also the components of the distribution network, including the valves. If you want to be in control, you need to know what is happening. And if the valves do not close correctly, we cannot know.

AVK equipment can contribute to wastewater management.
From households, wastewater flows by gravity to the nearest station, from where it is pumped to the treatment plant. The check valves, whose function is to prevent reverse flow, must be properly sealed, otherwise the wastewater will be pumped back.

At the level of wastewater treatment plants, AVK recommends the use of shut-off valves that are reliable and easy to maintain. The sewage treatment plant can be transformed into an energy production facility, using a methane tank, a gas tank and a gas boiler to convert biogas into energy. Again, robust and reliable valves and taps are the essence of these facilities.

To help reduce global CO2 emissions, it is important that different utilities work together. Given that traditional energy production should be transferred to renewable sources such as solar and wind energy, it is imperative to consider how we can ensure energy supply when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing. The solution lies in storing the surplus energy, for example in the natural gas network. The excess energy can produce hydrogen in a pyrolysis plant that allows hydrogen to be stored in the natural gas network. Hydrogen can also be included in Carbon Capture plants that retain CO2 in the fuel gas and convert it into methane, which in turn can help produce energy. And all of these processes require valves.

Climate change directly affects a community’s water infrastructure, either through a shortage or a surplus of water. Too much water causes flooding that can damage water supplies and lead to overflowing sewers, so both stormwater and wastewater end up in the