Anaerobic treatment eases sludge and energy use in U.S. industrial plants
An anaerobic wastewater treatment system designed to reduce or eliminate high-strength biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) discharges is being introduced to the U.S. industrial market. The system, developed and operating in Europe, continuously converts BOD, COD and sludge in wastewater streams to biogas, which can be subsequently used as a secondary energy source.
Beckart Environmental, an American engineering firm specializing in wastewater treatment technologies, plans to manufacture a fleet of low-cost bioreactors developed by Econvert, a Dutch company specializing in anaerobic wastewater treatment.
Beckart partnered with Econvert to provide customers producing effluent with high levels of BOD and COD an effective anaerobic solution to minimize costs/surcharges and waste attributed to using an aerobic system.
Sid Embree, a sales advisor for Beckart and Econvert, explained that these systems are ideal for facilities in locations where municipal sewage treatment charges are high and are continuing to rise.
"These charges are increasing in several U.S. states and municipalities as jurisdictions need to pay to upgrade and/or expand older municipal treatment systems. Depending on BOD (and COD) charges, systems can have a payback as low as 1½ to 2½ years," she said.
The reactors are proven to reduce BOD and COD in wastewater by 80 to 90 percent and can be retrofitted into existing aeration systems, helping facilities reserve energy- and installation-related expenditures. Econvert's systems also feature a unique vertical design ideal for reducing floor space requirements.
"With the anaerobic system, we utilize height on the large reactors, and it doesn't require as much retention time, so it'll typically be 20 percent of the space of an aerobic system," said Dan Fedrigon, vice president of sales and marketing at Beckart. "A lot of facilities don't have the space to go anaerobic, so they just keep paying the surcharges. This system can go in and reduce the surcharges and pay for itself."
Econvert's bioreactors are primarily used in large paper mills, breweries, food processing plants, and beverage manufacturers to treat wastewater and convert BOD and COD into biogas.