20 Application

Filtration+Separation September/October 2017

Water & wastewater

Tackling difficult
effluent: a guide
ffluents can be challenging in terms of their strength,
E variability and composition. Careful assessment of the
physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the
load should be carried out, so that a cost-effective and
efficient treatment process can be created and delivered.

Background

Difficult-to-treat effluent is often the

result of challenging industrial processes.
These processes can create complex
wastewater streams which may have
high levels of oil and grease; heavy
metals; and high bacterial and viral
loads that require specialist treatment.
Additional challenges could come from a
huge range of micro-pollutants.

Hard-to-treat effluent may have high

biological oxygen demand (BOD) or
chemical oxygen demand (COD) as
well as high levels of suspended solids.
Treating industrial effluent is complex and
depends very much on the kind of load
and the nature of the process generating
the wastewater stream. WPL, a wastewater
treatment provider, has had to tackle
many challenging effluent streams over
the last 25 years. WPL Disolved Air Floatation (DAF) wastewater treatment tank.

Treatment variation dissolved aeration filter (DAF) plants, as Treatment options

It is rare to find two industrial wastewater
streams that are the same, so treatment
will vary from site to site. Because WPL’s
plants are designed for each job, the
company has found a range of ways of
dealing with difficult effluents.
A fish farm in Scotland, where the effluent
contained a high level of biological
material, required a combination of
submerged aeration filter (SAF) plants and
well as a series of settlement tanks.
At a blood-processing laboratory
in England, engineers were able to
customize the existing treatment works
by fitting fine screens which could filter
out troublesome lumps of biological
matter. For a municipal waste disposal
site in England, WPL created a chemical
treatment which could remove the
variety of pollutants seeping from black
bin-bags.
Each case is different when it comes to
the kind of treatment an industrial user
requires. SAF technology is most suited
to biodegradable waste where there
may also be high ammonia levels. SAF
treatment plants have a small footprint
and are economical. If separating
suspended solids is the main issue, then
a DAF plant may be more effective. DAF
plants are often used in abattoirs, fish
processing or other cases where there is a

www.filtsep.com 0015 1882/17 ©2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

22 Application
SAF treatment plants have a small footprint and are most suited to
biodegradable waste.
high level of particulate, biological solids.
In some cases, for instance where there
is a high concentration of hair, it may
be important to fit screens. Additional
chemical processes may be necessary to
clear micro-pollutants, including heavy
metals, bacteria and viruses.
Assessing effluent
Each case begins with a site visit in
order for WPL engineers to understand
the nature of the site and the nature
of process taking place. Initially it is
important to assess the quantities of
effluent being produced. If the effluent
strength is variable, this also has to be
taken into account. Effluent samples are
taken to WPL’s in-house laboratory and
assessed for levels of COD, BOD and a
range of micro-pollutants. The samples
are then subjected to a range of different
processes to assess their treatability
with biological, physical and chemical
processes. Once it has been established
that the effluent can be successfully
treated in the lab, it is important to carry
out a pilot study onsite.
Pilot study
During the pilot study, engineers will
establish the parameters for treatment as
well as calculating the whole-life running
costs. Treatment options can be adjusted
during the pilot to ensure the effluent
is treated to optimal standards for a
given site. At a large site, the pilot can be
carried out by intercepting a side stream
of effluent, taking as little as 5% of the
total produced onsite. In other cases, the
pilot study will treat the entire effluent
stream. A pilot study is carried out for
www.filtsep.com
Industrial effluents
are complex and
companies should
ensure that they do
not breach consent
rules as this could
result in fines.
one week on a chemical process and
eight to twelve weeks for a biological
process. Both capital and operational
costs can be calculated, taking into
account energy use, chemical costs
and maintenance.
The benefits
Sewerage charges for industrial users
are calculated by utilities using the
Mogden formula. This means costs vary
from month to month, depending on
the strength of the treated effluent
released into the public sewers. In some
cases, sewerage charges for industrial
and agricultural customers can increase
tenfold if an unusually high level of
contaminants is detected in effluent
streams. Industrial users can even face
fines if they exceed consents set by the
water utility.
For these reasons, an increasing number
of industrial clients are looking for
stable, reliable onsite treatment which
treats effluent to a consistently high
standard. It is important to find the
right combination of treatment for the
effluent being treated which is why WPL
takes a systematic approach to the issue.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds are
wasted every year on industrial treatment
plants which are inadequate or unsuited
to the job in hand.
Filtration+Separation September/October 2017
Investing in a custom-made plant,
designed according to the nature of the
effluent to be treated, is the answer to
tackling hard-to-treat effluent. It is more
efficient, better for the environment and
could deliver long-term cost savings.
WPL has been called in to tackle some
challenging effluents over its 25-year
history. Here are a few of the worst.
Disposal site for zoo animals
An animal carcass disposal centre asked
WPL to help it manage variable loadings
from its rendering operation. The centre
was responsible for the disposal of bodies
of large animals such as whales, lions,
elephants and dolphins on behalf of zoos
and wildlife parks.
The effluent produced by the site where
the animal bodies were dismembered
and rendered was of highly variable
strength and load, depending on the
kind of animal carcasses being processed.
WPL installed a treatment system where
the effluent was homogenized in a
mixer tank, then aerated and screened,
prior to treatment in a SAF tank. It was
then allowed to settle before being
discharged. The untreated effluent had a
COD of between 8,000 and 10,000 mg/l.
After treatment, COD levels were under
500mg/l.
 SARATECH
®
Filtration+Separation September/October 2017

Blücher Technologies

THE OUTSTANDING LIQUID

Fish blood, gut, scale and bones in a WPL Drum Screen.
PURIFICATION IN A
Blood processing plant Fish processing CLOSED LOOP ON-SITE

A blood processing plant, which
uses human blood to manufacture a
range of blood-related products, was
having difficulties managing high
levels of biological solids in its effluent.
WPL engineers assessed the existing
treatment works and discovered that
the settlement tanks were not working
efficiently.
The issue was addressed by adding fine
screens to the end of the process to
separate out the biological solids which
were being missed by the treatment plant.
By identifying the cause of the problem
and improving the process, WPL saved the
client from the expense of replacing the
whole plant.
Municipal waste
A solid waste company processing black
bin-bags was having difficulty treating
the leachate seeping out from the
crushed domestic refuse. The variability
of the waste meant that identifying the
appropriate treatment combination in
this case was particularly challenging.
WPL carried out extensive testing on dozens
of samples in order to develop a customised
chemical treatment process specifically
designed for black bin-bag ‘juice’.
A fish processing plant in Scotland CCA – CONTINUOUS
needed help with its effluent which COUNTERFLOW ADSORDER
contained blood, scales and bones and
was proving hard-to-treat. WPL designed · A closed loop of adsorption and a
continuous regeneration directly
a customized plant which fed the effluent
through a filter before moving it to a DAF
on site
plant to separate out the solids. This was
followed with treatment in a SAF plant to
· No downtime due to standstill
when replacing/cleaning
remove soluble pollutants. Contaminants
were reduced by 95% and the treated · Small foot print area
wastewater achieved environmental
•
compliance for release into the sea.
· No handling & transport costs
www.wplinternational.com
· In situ adjustment to fluctuating
concentration of contaminants
Contact:
· The entire control of the overall
process
Press and technical enquiries to:
Adam Parmenter
Industrial Sales, WPL Ltd
Please visit us
DD: +44 (0)825 892 470 at AQUATECH
Office: +44 (0)2392 242 600 in Amsterdam
Email: adam.parmenter@wpl.co.uk
Hall 7, Stand 07.550
Web: www.wplinternational.com
Issued on behalf of:
WPL Ltd
Unit 1 Aston Road
Waterlooville
Hampshire
PO7 7UX
Simon Kimber, Sales & Marketing
Director, WPL www.bluecher.com