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com Innovations & Technologies

BioMag & CoMag

optimising water treatment assets
for increased efficiency

A
gainst a tough economic and legislative background, ensuring consistent water quality and future system
capacity for sewage and waste water treatment, is an ongoing challenge for utility companies. With tightening
budgets, optimising existing assets can safely and effectively help meet these challenges. There is potential for
some organisations to overlook the efficiencies that can be gained by upgrading technologies as a way to improve
their existing assets, instead favouring the addition of bolt on technologies, or complete rebuilds. Businesses
which upgrade existing systems are benefitting from improved water quality and cost efficiencies without adding
additional process steps.

CoMagTM - Reaction tanks - Courtesy of Evoqua Water Technologies

Background
Improving effluent quality is an ongoing goal for the industry as
public safety is the number one priority. Ensuring this is achieved in
a cost effective and reliable manner is crucial for operators. As water
treatment infrastructure ages, technology continues to advance
and plants face the decision of how to best keep operations running
while meeting safety and operational efficiency targets.
The removal of phosphorus, under the urban waste water treatment
directive (91/271/EEC), is one example of a key concern for many
plants which is a major driver to improve quality. However, it is
important that all decisions to update infrastructure are carefully
considered before spend is committed, as there are a range of
options available to ensure plants can be confident quality targets
are met.

For plants that need to update systems to reduce operating costs,
expand capacity and increase effluent quality, there is a tendency
for operators to see technology benefits available in the market and
purchase new equipment which creates a further process step. This
adds further complexity to a system, which then adds additional
engineering time and increases plant footprint which has inherent
costs associated with it.
Upgrading to optimise
In many cases, sites can reap the quality benefits and confidence in
infrastructure performance they seek by upgrading the biological
step in their system to ensure it meets targets. By investing
resource here, post-treatment options such as sand filtration and
disc aeration are not needed. Importantly, this minimises a plants
footprint, delivering operational efficiency.

Furthermore, management at ageing plants may decide to rebuild, A prime example of how plants can upgrade their system, instead
overlooking the benefits available from upgrading existing assets. of simply adding to the technology portfolio, is in the clarification

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 www.WaterProjectsOnline.com Innovations & Technologies
system. For example, Evoquas CoMag system easily integrates
with existing plant facilities, offering a cost effective way to enhance
an operations clarification process.
CoMag
This innovative solution is used primarily to improve secondary
or tertiary water flow and uses magnetite to ballast conventional
chemical floc. This significantly enhances settling rates, therefore
increasing the performance of wastewater and water treatment
facilities. In addition, the system continuously recovers and reuses
99% of its magnetite while its ballast clarification reduces the
plants chemical use, all contributing to wider cost savings.
The result of introducing CoMag into the wastewater process is
to significantly improve the quality of the wastewater entering
the environment. Following a CoMag process the T-P levels are
consistently < 0.05 mg/l and turbidities less than 1 NTU.
BioMag
Another cost effective example of technology that can increase
treatment capacity without requiring the installation of an
additional process step is the BioMagTM System. This solution
enables an existing plant to double or even triple its biological
treatment capacity and improve nutrient removal all within
existing tanks, enhancing sedimentation at a much lower cost than
membrane bioreactor technology, which is traditionally associated
with enhanced capacity. By using BioMagTM, the plants clarifier
footprint is decreased by 50% and sites are also able to handle
peaks in flow better while increasing effluent quality.
BioMagTM systems enhance biological wastewater treatment
processes by using magnetite to ballast biological floc. With a
specific gravity of 5.2 and a strong affinity for biological solids,
magnetite substantially increases the settling rate of the biomass.
Increasing settling rates of the biological floc provides the
opportunity to increase mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS)
CoMagTM - Inside a tertiary clarifier depicting magnetite ballasted
technology at work - Courtesy of Evoqua Water Technologies
UK Water Projects: Innovations & Technologies page 2 of 2
concentration. Higher MLSS concentration enables the treatment
of increased hydraulic flows or surges and loadings, all with the
same tankage.
The benefit is the best of all worlds - increased throughput and
significantly improved effluent quality (TSS < 5 mg/l, T-P < 0.2 mg/l,
T-N <3 mg/l) with no need for additional tanks or clarifiers.
Summary
When considering any update to plant infrastructure, it is
important to look at the investments whole life costs, not just
initial expenditure. Consider the maintenance required for the
technology, as well as its energy efficiency and how it will impact
the footprint of the plant.
For increased efficiency, consider any upgrade as a part of a sites
integrated treatment system. While many plants look at their
requirements on a need-by-need basis, true operational and cost
efficiencies are achieved from operating an integrated system that
is carefully and intelligently designed.
Optimising plant efficiency is about simplifying plant upgrades,
so selecting the right technology and solution to meet a sites
specific needs. By keeping systems simple (i.e. not adding
additional process steps when a simple upgrade could provide the
solution) operators will benefit from cost, time and plant footprint
reductions. Communication is key here. Plants should consult with
an expert, someone that understands the industry and their needs
and can recommend the right, most efficient solution. Bigger is
most definitely not always better. Increasing efficiency is possible
without tertiary treatment options and this applies to even the
toughest treatment challenges.
This paper was prepared by Evoqua Water Technologies.
Tel: 01732 771777
www.evoquawater.co.uk
info.uk@evoqua.com
Magnetite recovery drum
Courtesy of Evoqua Water Technologies
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embrace gravity.
defy convention.
The BIOMAG SYSTEM Key benefits of upgrading your Activated
Sludge Plant to a BioMag System
Increase plant throuput, eliminate clarifier bottlenecks and improve
Simplicity and reliability
secondary effluent quality by retrofitting your Activated Sludge
Enhanced nutrient removal (ENR)
Plant with BioMag System.
3X activated sludge capacity
The BioMag System can double if not triple a plants existing without new tankage
biological treatment capacity and achieve enhanced nutrient 5X hydraulic capacity
removal limits all within existing tankage and has been proven TN < 3.0 mg/L and TP < 0.2 mg/L
at multiple industrial and municipal facilities.

www.evoquawater.co.uk info.uk@evoqua.com

2014 Evoqua Water Technologies Ltd