Water/Waste Processing - Feb 2012
treatment In that case GWE offers two anaerobic systems that can treat dairy wastewater without or with limited FOG removal the ANUBIX C system and the FLOTAMET system Even if more expensive those systems are often the best choice to be preferred over a high rate UASB or EGSB system if the FOG removing pre treatment by DAF with chemicals results in problematic and expensive sludge disposal The cost of this depends much on local possibilities for sludge disposal Both the ANUBIX C and especially the FLOTAMET system can effectively degrade moderate amounts of dairy fat thereby avoiding big DAF sludge disposal problems The FLOTAMET system degrades FOG best but requires a high operating temperature in case of a high FOG COD ratio Power from Effluent Wastewaters from the dairy industry are typically highly loaded with organic pollutants that can be treated advantageously by means of anaerobic processes Closed anaerobic reactors generate large quantities of methane CH 4 from the organic materials in the wastewater that can diminish or even completely replace the use of fossil fuels in the production process To bring some perspective to the value one ton of COD chemical oxygen demand digested anaerobically can result in 350Nm3 of methane equivalent to 015MW of power For specific industry applications with high organic loads enough biogas can be generated to fully cover a factorys energy needs and still have a biogas surplus to feed it into power generators and sell electricity to the national grid often generating carbon credits where these apply as well as profit But it doesnt end there The GWE closed anaerobic process systems prevent large quantities of CH 4 being emitted into the atmosphere With CH 4 being 21 times more harmful than CO 2 GWEs anaerobic wastewater solutions can also qualify for Emission Reduction Certificates for projects in countries listed under the United Nations Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism CDM and Joint Implementation JI programs Besides the economical advantage of efficient anaerobic wastewater treatment there is clearly also the environmental advantage significantly reducing factories carbon footprint not only by supplying renewable energy and thus reducing or even eliminating the use of fossil fuels but also by replacing more traditional CH 4 polluting open lagoons and by replacing power consuming and sludge producing traditional aerobic WWTPs The main criteria for energy generating projects to become viable are the COD loading rate The higher the organic load of the wastewater the more biogas and thus renewable energy can be generated from it Cost of fuel also plays a significant role As the world is learning to live with higher energy prices choosing anaerobic technology now holds the key to immediate and future safeguarding of power supply for many industries Choosing the Right Technology In selecting a suitable technology provider for wastewater treatment with biogas utilization it is crucial to partner up with a reliable experienced team such as GWE CST Wastewater Solutions which between them provide a solid track record in this field complemented by more than 20 years of hands on local wastewater experience From the design to implementation stage and beyond into operations and maintenance of the plants it is very important to look at the feasibility of a biogas project both technically and economically It is extremely important to choose the right reactor configuration Each industry has specific wastewater characteristics requiring thorough analysis and subsequent careful selection of the most suitable reactor design for these characteristics Too often we have seen companies left disillusioned after trying to implement anaerobic wastewater treatment with biogas reuse in the past Although anaerobic technologies have improved significantly in recent years the world is still littered with too many examples of how it is not supposed to be done says Ombregt A significant part of GWE revenue comes from customers who had bad experiences with anaerobic treatment in the past and are often left with empty hands This is too bad as it sheds a negative light on the technology although in the right hands it has so much to offer for a broad range of industries GWE and CST say environmental initiatives such as green energy generations from wastewater treatment do not always get as much attention as the more traditional renewables such as solar and wind But in fact there is a huge often hidden potential in using wastewater as a source of renewable energy The GWE CST Wastewater Technology partnership 22 February 2012 Water Waste Processing www waterwaste com
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