We present projects at the World Water Forum, in France
The 6th World Water Forum gets underway today, in Marseille, France, bringing together delegations, businesses and non-governmental organizations from several countries. Scheduled to end on the 17th, the event is held just before the World Water Day (celebrated on the 22nd) and aims not only to address the challenges the world is facing for the rational use of this resource, but also to promote debate and encourage the mobilization of the society regarding this subject.
We will participate as one of the sponsors of the Brazil Pavilion for the first time. In the Pavilion, we will showcase our programs and projects for the conservation and efficient use of water at its facilities. In 2011, we saved more than 20 billion liters of water, or 10% of the amount needed for its operations. The goal is to achieve savings in the order of 31 billion liters per year by 2013.
On the 14th, in the "Water in the Industry" panel, we will present how we manage water resources and provide examples of our eco-efficiency and reuse projects. The aim is to discuss solutions for the industrial sector's operations in view of the risks and opportunities associated with the use of these resources. Also on the 14th, a presentation will be made on Programa Petrobras Ambiental (Petrobras Environmental Program), which in 2012 completes a five-year cycle with R$ 500 million of investments in environmental conservation projects related to the "Water and Climate" theme, throughout Brazil. Environmentalist Gérard Moss will then speak on the Projeto Rios Voadores (Flying Rivers Project), which is part of the program. The researcher, who was decorated by Queen Elizabeth, of England, for his work in favor of the Brazilian environment, will explain how deforestation in the Amazon region can alter the rain cycle, especially in the Southern and Southeastern regions of the Country.
Initiatives
Forum visitors will also have the opportunity to get to know the conservation and efficient water use projects used at our operating areas. The world's largest water reuse project will be deployed at the Complexo Petroquímico do Rio de Janeiro (Comperj - Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex). The refinery, which will be one of our largest ventures, will use treated industrial wastewater with a total flow of 47.3 billion liters per year, enough to supply a city of 750,000 people.
Another reuse project is underway at the Henrique Lage Refinery (Revap), in the Paraíba Valley region (in the state of São Paulo), which in 2011 received a pioneering bioreactor technology designed to retain the bacteria in the wastewater, improving the quality of treated water even further. Combined with the refinery's revamped water treatment plant, the project will afford annual savings of up to 2.6 billion liters of water. Meanwhile, the Centro de Pesquisas e Desenvolvimento Leopoldo Américo Miguez de Melo (Cenpes - Leopoldo Américo Miguez de Melo Research and Development Center) has built an innovative project named “Estação Móvel de Reúso de Água” ("Mobile Water Reuse Station"). Equipped with 15 pilot units, the Station enables refineries to test up to 90 different technological solutions for wastewater treatment and reuse in order to attain the best possible results.
