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Replacement of Existing Treatment Plant

H+E refurbished an existing Sugar Wastewater Treatment Plant in Scandinavia.

H+E is one of the leading international providers of industrial process and wastewater treatment solutions,

The existing wastewater ponds had the disadvantage of both consuming large amounts of energy and also not meeting the necessary treated wastewater quality requirements. Therefore, the client decided to replace the essentially redundant equipment with up-to-date technology.

H+E’s Expertise

Sugar Wastewater Treatment is not straightforward. However H+E has extensive experience in this market. It has been a leading provider of wastewater treatment systems for the companies throughout the sugar industry for many years. We developed our unique technology and energy-efficient solutions to meet the specific demands of the sugar industry. This was the main factor in the Client’s decision to choose H+E.

Our aerobic BIOFIT®.N process uses combined denitrification and nitrification stages to safely and efficiently remove nitrogen. This compact solution has been proved many times in the sugar industry to be a reliable and highly efficient method for treating wastewater. It uses a particular type of fine bubble membrane aeration of the activated sludge basin. This results in a substantial reduction of energy consumption, and therefore leads to a rapid return on investment for the client. Integrating it with the existing equipment reduces total investment costs. BIOFIT®.N is one of a family of BIOFIT processes.

The aerobic BIOFIT®.N system started operation right on schedule for the 2017/2018 campaign.

H+E has also developed the two-stage ANAFIT-CS system. This particularly suits wastewater with a high calcium concentration, usually found in the sugar industry. It avoids operational problems which are often caused by calcium carbonate clogging, commonly seen in other treatment processes. As a result, ANAFIT-CS systems operate reliably and dependably.

H+E has supplied a Wastewater Treatment Plant for a new highly efficient Waste-to-Energy Plant. This plant uses Refuse-Derived-Fuel (RDF) to produce electricity. At the same time it minimises overall CO₂ emissions to atmosphere. H+E’s plant pre-assembled and tested the plant before delivery to site.

Pre-assembly showing pH adjustment stage on the left and SecureChem™ IBC level control on the right

 SecureChem™ IBC level control Cabinet

The Problem

This type of plant produces wastewater from a number of different sources. It is carefully treated so that it can be safely discharged to foul sewer. Even then, the discharge must be constantly monitored to ensure that its quality is within the prescribed limits. The wastewater can contain very variable concentrations of both suspended solids and chemicals.

The Solution

Two settlement stages operated in parallel remove solids accumulated from a number of sources. This gives the plant maximum flexibility and ensures that it is always available to treat the wastewater.  Chemical treatment is required because the incoming wastewater quality varies significantly. H+E’s SecureChem™ system does this completely automatically. 1m³ Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC’s) supply the chemicals directly to the treatment system. SecureChem™ connects two IBCs in duty / standby mode.

SecureChem™ systems ensure that the chemical from each IBC is completely consumed. Only then does the system switch automatically to the standby IBC. Therefore, the only operator involvement is to change the empty IBC for a new, full one from time to time. This therefore avoids most of the risks associated with chemical handling.

The plant monitors the treated wastewater’s pH, temperature and flow rate before discharging to foul sewer.

Pre-assembly

Following completion of the design phase we both manufactured and pre-assembled the system in our factory. This enabled our client to also attend and witness the testing. It also enabled us to ensure that functioned as required immediately on start-up. Equipment installation was very quick following delivery to site. Each  client can therefore benefit significantly from this!

After completing installation we commissioned the system and trained the client’s staff . We also offer to provide long-term service and support for the lifetime of the plant as standard. Typically, lifetime will exceed 25 years for this type of plant.

The H+E supplied a Treatment Plant to handle wastewater containing a mixture of highly concentrated acids. This included Hydrofluoric and Nitric acids, and also contains a range of soluble metals.

General Plant view

Overall plant design and manufacture was to an unusually high standard because of  the particularly highly-sensitive application.  The target minimum design life was 40 years. It also included the supply of documentation to a very high standard.

The Solution

This involved neutralising the wastewater with calcium hydroxide to precipitate the fluoride as calcium fluoride. Neutralisation is done in two separate steps simply because the pH of the incoming wastewater  is less than 1. Flocculation of the solids produced is the next step to allow their efficient separation from the wastewater in one of our Tube Settlers. This highly efficient lamella clarifier design is a standard product.  Literally hundreds of plants benefit from their installation.

Following settlement, the clarified wastewater flows into a TOVEKO continuous gravity sand filter. This removes any final traces of fine solids. Sometimes the wastewater is too warm to discharge directly to sewer. It is therefore cooled when necessary. On-line instruments continuously monitor the quality of the treated wastewater. It then mixes with various other non-toxic wastewater streams and discharges to foul sewer. The plant also monitors the quality of the final, mixed wastewater stream before discharge to foul sewer.

Chemical Dosing Tanks

The sludge formed by the settling solids transfers automatically to a separate sludge holding tank. The sludge settles further in the quiescent conditions. A decanting system automatically removes excess water and recirculates it back into the plant for final treatment. A filter press then dewaters the thickened sludge. The solid “cake” produced  is taken off-site for disposal.

We included an unusually sophisticated plant control system. It features a far greater degree and depth of continuous control and monitoring than is normal for this type of wastewater in a more “standard” industrial environment.

Pre-assembly

We both manufactured and pre-assembled the plant to a very high level. We then  inspected and Factory Tested it thoroughly before delivering it to site.

Pre-assembly has been an integral part of our culture for a substantial time now, mainly because it enables us to control the quality of what we deliver and also because testing in our factories is so much more efficient than doing so on site.

Chemical Treatment Stages

You can find further information about H+E’s Tube Settlers and TOVEKO filters in the Downloads section.

The RWE npower power station at Pembroke in South Wales  generates up to 2,160MW. This therefore makes it the largest combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant in the UK. H+E has completed a number of previous contracts with both RWE and the main contractor. We were therefore chosen to design and supply the process water system to feed the gas turbines.

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Introduction

Zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) is a robust wastewater management solution that utilises a sequence of advanced treatment processes. It minimises wastewater volumes, increases water recycling, and therefore concentrates waste solids to the greatest extent possible. An efficient ZLD system utilises many different treatment processes and combinations of technologies. A common step in most ZLD systems is a large thermal evaporation stage that is extremely energy-intensive.  Hence, this results in high and often prohibitive operating costs. This challenge is driving the need for innovative ZLD solutions that offer effective and reliable treatment. They must also overcome cost barriers to implementation, energy use, and operation. Read more