Introduction
Water scarcity, environmental sustainability, and the demand for efficient water & wastewater treatment processes are driving the development of innovative solutions. In this article, we will delve deep into three low-cost, low-complexity wastewater treatment solutions in MAK Water’s portfolio:
- Cloth Media Filters (CMF),
- Rotating Biological Contactors (RBC), and
- Biocombi systems – a combination of the RBC and CMF.
MAK Water has partnered with a European leader in these technologies, MITA Water Technologies, based in Italy, to bring these robust and economical solutions to the Australian market.
By exploring the features, advantages, and applications of these relatively simple and robust water treatment technologies, we aim to provide a thorough understanding of where and how these solutions are best applied in industrial and municipal settings.
Cloth Media Filters (CMF)
Introduction to Cloth Media Filters
The Cloth Media Filters (CMF) is an advanced tertiary treatment for solids removal and can be a secondary sludge removal stage downstream of a biological treatment as an alternative to final clarifiers along with the typical sand filtration often found in the Municipal sector.
This technology utilises a rotating disc covered with a cloth media to efficiently filter suspended solids and contaminants from water.
How the Cloth Media Filters Work
At the heart of CMF lies an ingenious, simple design that enables continuous filtration and the use of a high strength material called Polstoff. The rotating discs, partially submerged in water, revolve, and the cloth media captures suspended particles as it rotates. This continuous exposure ensures a thorough and efficient filtration process.
Key Features and Advantages
- High Filtration Efficiency: The design of the cloth media provides a large surface area for filtration, resulting in high removal rates of suspended solids and contaminants ensuring wastewater treated target are met, mitigating potential environmental impacts.
- Compact Footprint: CMF systems are renowned for their space efficiency, making them ideal for installations where space is at a premium and furthermore reducing CAPEX cost pertaining to civils/installation compared to a larger system.
- Low Maintenance & Continuous filtration: The self-cleaning mechanism and the utilisation of staged washing of each disc ensure there is continuous filtration of CMF, minimizing maintenance needs, reducing downtime and operational costs.
- Versatility: Their rugged simplicity lends CMF systems cto applications across various industries, including municipal water treatment, industrial processes, and wastewater treatment, particularly in remote settings.
Applications of Cloth Media Filters
- Municipal Water Treatment: CMF systems play a crucial role in municipal water treatment plants, ensuring the removal of impurities to provide clean and safe drinking water to communities.
- Industrial Processes: Various industries, including food and beverage, petrochemicals, and textiles, benefit from CMF technology in treating process water and wastewater.
- Wastewater Treatment: CMF systems are instrumental in the tertiary treatment of wastewater, polishing effluent before discharge or reuse.
All the above applications are integral for the operator to ensure they are meeting the required government targets whilst mitigating negative exposure and potential loss.
Rotating Biological Contactors (RBC)
Understanding Rotating Biological Contactors (RBC)
Rotating Biological Contactors (RBC) are playing a pivotal role in MAK Water’s innovative wastewater treatment solutions. These systems leverage the natural processes of microorganisms to break down organic pollutants in water, offering a sustainable and efficient method for biological treatment. The RBC’s treatment process will produce an effluent to a Class C or A (Exposure risk low and medium respectively). There has been over 35 years of experience when designing and constructing the PP disc proving reliability and high resistance to mechanical stress and chemical reagents ensure longevity of the plant.
Mechanism of Rotating Biological Contactors
RBC technology involves the rotation of circular discs, each hosting microbial biomass. These discs sit partially submerged within the influent wastewater. The partially submerged section of the disc and oppositely the exposure to oxygen plays a vital role in the process. As these discs slowly rotate through the water, microorganismsmetabolize the organic material organic matter, transforming it into less harmful byproducts. Concurrently, the air exposure allows the necessary growth of the biological film creating a symbiotic relationship.
Key Features and Advantages
- Biological Treatment: RBC systems excel in biological treatment, facilitating the degradation of organic pollutants through the action of microorganisms.
- Energy Efficiency: RBC systems are known for their low energy consumption, making them environmentally friendly and operationally cost-effective.
- Resilience to Shock Loads: RBC systems can handle variations in organic load, making them suitable for applications with fluctuating wastewater characteristics.
- Compact Design: Like the CMF, RBC systems offer a compact footprint, making them suitable for installations with limited space.
- High Turn Down Capability: RBC systems have an enormous ability to handle high turn downs of the plant. This is key if the application is likely to experience high levels of variable flow.
- Low Operator Input: Due to the design of the RBC and its simplistic metabolizing process the need for high operator input is mitigated.
Applications of Rotating Biological Contactors
- Small-scale Municipal Wastewater Treatment: RBC systems are commonly used in municipal wastewater treatment plants, particularly for remote villages, for the biological treatment of sewage and organic pollutants.
- Industrial Effluent Treatment: Industries with high organic loads, such as food processing and chemical manufacturing, benefit from RBC technology for effective wastewater treatment.
- Upgrading Existing Treatment Plants: RBC systems can be integrated into existing treatment facilities to enhance biological treatment capabilities.
- Camping/Caravan Parks: There has been an incredible rise in RBC applications to treat sewage within these tourism destinations due to the systems flexibility on handling variable flows.
- Mining Camps: RBC’s have can be of interest for small or temporary mine sites due to its competitive cost, ease of operation and robust construction.
Biocombi Systems
Introduction to Biocombi Systems
Biocombi Systems marks a groundbreaking advancement in water treatment by combining the strengths of Rotating Cloth Media Filters and Rotating Biological Contactors. This integrated approach provides a higher level of water treatment, offering both physical and biological treatment in a single system. This system produces an effluent to a Class C or A (Exposure risk low and medium respectively) when the treated water is disinfected after being treated in the Biocombi.
Synergy of CMF and RBC in Biocombi Systems
Biocombi Systems leverage the efficient filtration capabilities of CMF and the biological treatment of RBC. The result is a dual-stage process whereby the biological treatment occurs in the RBC, this is where part of the BOD reduction occurs, followed by the suspended solids which are removed through the secondary RCMF stage.
Key Features and Advantages
- Comprehensive Treatment: Biocombi Systems provide a holistic approach to water treatment, addressing both physical and biological aspects in a single, integrated system.
- Space Efficiency: By combining two treatment processes into one system, Biocombi Systems offer space savings compared to separate RCMF and RBC installations.
- Reduced Capital and Operational Costs: The integrated design of Biocombi Systems can lead to cost savings in terms of both initial investment and ongoing operational expenses.
- Adaptability: Biocombi Systems are adaptable to various applications, including municipal water treatment, industrial processes, and decentralized water treatment solutions.
- Energy Savings: Due to the Biocombi Systems single gear box, the energy required for operation is far less than typical wastewater plants.
- High Turn Down Capability: RBC systems have an enormous ability to handle high turn downs of the plant. This is key if the application is likely to experience high levels of variable flow.
- Low Operator Input: Due to the design of the RBC and its simplistic metabolizing process the need for high operator input is mitigated.
- Resilience to Shock Loads: RBC systems can handle variations in organic load, making them suitable for applications with fluctuating wastewater characteristics.
- Aerobic System: RBC systems, unlike other wastewater systems obtain its oxygen supply via disc exposure to air vs traditional plants which require specific integrated aeration or diffusion systems
Applications of Biocombi Systems
- Small to Medium-sized Municipalities: Biocombi Systems are well-suited for smaller and remote municipalities seeking efficient and cost-effective water treatment solutions.
- Industrial Facilities: Industries looking for compact and comprehensive water treatment solutions can benefit from Biocombi Systems.
- Decentralised Water Treatment: Biocombi Systems can be deployed in decentralized settings, providing on-site treatment for specific applications.
- Secondary/Redundancy Treatment: Biocombi Systems can also be deployed as a redundancy system if the control philosophy demands.
Conclusion
As part of MAK Water’s commitment to delivering a sustainable water future, it is vital we are able to provide technologies that have the ability to handle wastewater with care eliminating potential environmental hazards and human harm for different budgets and scenarios. The Rotating Cloth Media Filters, Rotating Biological Contactors, and the revolutionary Biocombi Systems provide low-cost, low-complexity solutions for low-medium flow and low risk scenarios where our more advanced MMF and ASBR technologies aren’t necessarily required.
Incorporating these products into MAK Water’s range demonstrates our dedication to helping our customers & clients with the most appropriate treatment technologies for each scenario, leading to peace of mind, CAPEX & OPEX savings, compliance and sustainable operations. We take pride in providing efficient, sustainable, and adaptable solutions for diverse water treatment challenges.
About the authors:
John is a Technical Sales Representative, based at MAK Water HQ in Perth, WA.
Derek is a 35+ year veteran of the water treatment industry, with experience gained across OEMS, consulting, and municipal operations in Australia and South Africa. Derek is based in MAK Water’s Melbourne (Hallam) office.