The world’s 100th Nereda wastewater treatment plant built in Florida, USA

Nereda technology wastewater treatment plants require 50% less energy and are up to four times smaller than conventional ones.

Furthermore, Nereda plants exist in 21 countries on 6 continents and the one built for the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority in Florida marks the 100^th one constructed.

The Nereda technology was first developed in Mark van Loosdrecht's lab at Delft University of Technology and became commercially available within 10 years after that, through a public-private partnership.

Nereda, named after the Greek water nymph, which symbolizes pure water, uses an aerobic granular sludge technology instead of the conventional floc one. Bacteria grown in granules settle at a rate of 1m per 4 minutes, compared to the rate of 1m per 60 minutes for conventional ones grown in flocs.

In addition to the aforementioned, while traditional treatment methods require different spaces for different processes, granular sludge allows for simultaneous work of different bacteria in the same space. This is the key which allows for less space and less energy to be used in Nereda plants.

Finally, Professor Mark van Loosdrecht first developed granular sludge successfully in 1997 and the public-private partnership began in 2002, after which the technology began spreading rapidly.