Abstract:
The
objective of the project was to develop a novel package plant using available
process technologies that would be competitive in the domestic waste water treatment
market.
A market
analysis identified the business opportunity for Balmoral Tanks to develop a
package plant with higher treatment capability than its current product. A customer
survey and a review of Regulatory standards provided valuable input into the design
considerations for the
package plant.
A review of available
process technologies and materials of construction resulted in
the selection of a
Moving Bed Biolm Reactor (MBBR) process and High Density
Polyethylene material as the optimum design basis for the package plant.
A detailed
design exercise scoped out and specified all the components of the MBBR
package plant.
A four month duration
programme for testing the prototype at Cranfield University
facilities was devised which
satisfactorily simulated typical domestic wastewater
treatment
operating conditions. Test rig problems associated with very low ambient
temperatures were experienced in the early stages of testing and were identified and
resolved. The
prototype package plant unit subsequently operated satisfactorily and the
performance was demonstrated to meet all the wastewater constituent removal design
specifications. The MBBR process performance was shown to be consistent with
published findings of other researchers.
Novel fabrication methods
developed by Balmoral Tanks resulted in the cost of the
new MBBR
package plant being only 3% higher than that of Balmoral Tanks current
lower
specification product.
The new MBBR
package plant is shown to be a potentially very marketable domestic
wastewater treatment
product.
