Zero Liquid Discharge Pilot Programme Launches in the Thrace Industrial Basin

Search for a Structural Solution for the Ergene Basin

The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has announced a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) pilot programme in the Thrace industrial basin. Starting at selected plants on the Tekirdağ-Çorlu corridor, the programme aims to phase out industrial discharge into the Ergene River. The pilot covers 2026-2030; total investment is 4.2 billion lira.

The Ergene Basin has been one of Turkey's most active fronts in industrial water management for the past two decades. The concentration of textile, chemical, metal plating and food processing sectors has structurally exceeded the basin's assimilation capacity. ZLD stands out as the final-stage solution model for this structural problem.

ZLD's Technical Framework

Zero liquid discharge is a system approach targeting full recovery of industrial wastewater with no liquid stream released to the receiving environment. A typical ZLD process consists of three main stages:

Advanced pre-treatment: reduction of target pollutants through chemical and biological barriers
Reverse osmosis / nanofiltration: separation of salt concentration
Evaporation and crystallisation: salt recovery from the concentrate stream

System outputs include high-quality water returned to processes, marketable-grade sodium and calcium salts, and a small amount of dry waste.

ZLD's operating cost per cubic metre is reported in the 0.8-2.4 dollars range. The cost is roughly three to five times that of classic advanced treatment with discharge, but in basins like the Ergene that have reached their ecological capacity threshold, it is considered the only viable option.

Components of the Pilot Programme

Investment breakdown of the 4.2 billion lira pilot programme:

Full-scale ZLD installation at five selected plants: 2.8 billion lira
Central salt recovery plant: 720 million lira
Digital monitoring and audit infrastructure: 280 million lira
Environmental impact and performance monitoring: 240 million lira
Sectoral capacity development programme: 160 million lira

The central salt recovery plant is being established under a shared service model for the sector. This approach improves the economic feasibility of ZLD investment at individual plant scale; it is a critical opening, especially for SME-scale producers.

Sector Distribution

Sector distribution of the five plants in the pilot:

Textile finishing: 2 plants
Metal plating: 1 plant
Specialty chemicals: 1 plant
Oil-chemical processing: 1 plant

The sector mix is structured to be representative of the Ergene Basin's industrial profile. Pilot results will be used as sectoral cost and performance reference values; they will form the technical basis for the post-2030 decision on basin-wide rollout.

Enforcement Structure

The Ministry plans to make ZLD application mandatory across the basin after the pilot. Enforcement timeline:

Early 2027: notification obligation for plants consuming more than 100,000 cubic metres of water per year
Early 2029: obligation to submit ZLD plan and technical feasibility
Early 2031: obligation to commission ZLD infrastructure
End of 2032: ban on direct industrial discharge into the Ergene

This timetable suggests that around 380 plants operating in the basin will be drawn into significant capacity investment over the next six years.

Financing and Support

The Ministry has built a comprehensive financing framework to support the sector through the ZLD transition. Components of the framework:

KOSGEB grant programme: investment support of up to 35 percent
TUBITAK R&D loan: repayable support of up to 75 percent
Development and Investment Bank of Turkey: green investment loan
European Investment Bank: framework loan agreement

The European Investment Bank loan reduces sector lending costs by 200 basis points. This structure significantly eases financing constraints for SME-scale producers during the transition.

Implications for the Sector

The Thrace pilot marks the start of a new paradigm in Turkey's industrial water management. Topics for the sector to watch:

Order pipeline expansion for evaporation and crystallisation equipment manufacturers
A new market for salt recovery and dry waste management service providers
ZLD feasibility and design services for engineering consulting firms
Integration demand for digital monitoring software developers

If the model is implemented successfully, the Ergene Basin will become Turkey's first industrial basin to move to zero discharge at basin scale. The roll-out timetable for the model in other industrial basins of the Marmara Region will take shape after 2030.