Upgrading an Existing Sewage Plant

Published on by in Academic

Upgrading an Existing Sewage Plant

We are working on a major project to improve the Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) in Hyderabad, India.

Most of the STP' s are old and built in the late 80s. I'm looking for ways to upgrade these existing plants to more advanced but affordable technology so that they use less energy and become more efficient, have lower installation and maintenance costs and require less land.

Has anyone worked on upgrading old STPs with advanced technologies? Please share your suggestions and experiences.

Media

Taxonomy

49 Answers

  1. Hi Anish, I am working on projects in Australia upgrading STPs that are over 30 years old. I have found switching the old aeration technology to fine and ultrafine bubble technology to give an immediate reduction in energy costs in the order of magnitude of 2-3 times. 

    You can get rid of the clarifier by retrofitting membranes into the existing aeration tanks to convert them into an MBR type process. My company has successfully done this in a number of STPs. This will reduce your footprint by about 1/3.

    MBR is much smaller, easier to install, operate and maintain than conventional activated sludge processes. This is the standard process my company is implementing across Asia and Australia at the moment. BOD is

  2. We supply the following biocultures

     

    Biocultures:

    We offer following types of biocultures

    1. Aerobic Bio-culture
    2. AnAerobic Bio-culture
    3. Bio-culture to reduce Oil & Grease
    4. Bioculture to reduce Ammonical Nitrogen Level
    5. Bioculture for composting level.

    We have the consortium of potential microbes, which are capable to reduce organic pollutants and odour during seewage or effluent treatment.


    The enzyme secreted by the bacteria will break down the higher and complex organic compounds which will be easily assimilated by the bacteria, which encourages in the development of potential biomass and reduction of cod.

    The product efficiency depends on the following parameters.

    pH
    Temperature
    COD
    Bod
    Ammonical nitrogen
    Oil and grease
    DO
    Retention period, if the retention period increase means the soluble COD will increase.
    MLSS
    MLVSS
     

    Our products work best in


    pH - 6.5 to 9

    Temperature - we have ranges of pdts related to temperature

    Psycrophilic for cold temperatures

    Mesophilic for normal temperature from 18 - 45

    Thermophile for above 45 to 70

    Hyper thermophilic bacteria for above 65

  3. Yes we worked on a using customized microbes which can work under minimum mechanical inputs especially aeration but clean the sewage and domestic waste water more efficiently. I am based out of Vijayawada nd can give more details if you find it interesting to collaborate with us.

    Regards

    Sarath 

  4. Upgrading with MBBR is a great solution, without having to build to increase volume. MBR seems too expensive and complex for this problem. However pre-treatment and secondary clarification capacity depend largely on peak-flow and need to be tackled separately. An acceptable solution for this can be the installation of a generously dimensioned equalization and homogenization tank, with adequate mixing and pre-aeration equipment (to avoid bad odor development). Self aspirating surface aerators with swing-arm to accompany level variations are a good option. This way your available treatment capacity can be used practically during 24h/day and peak loads are smoothed out.

  5. The Norwegian's developed the MBBR process as an inexpensive means of upgrading and increasing the treatment capacity of existing wastewater treatment plants that had absolutely no room for expansion - many being located between the base of a cliff and the ocean.  There are other hybrid technologies and MBR processes you could consider, but I believe from an overall sustainability basis the MBBR is likely your best choice.  It is very simple to operate; has lower aeration energy costs than a MBR process and no membranes to replace; it does not have the sludge bulking problems experienced at conventional activated sludge processes; capacity can be expanded and reduced to accommodate variable loading by adding or removing media; the waste biosolids typically settle and dewater well; and the inherently long sludge ages minimize biosolids treatment and disposal costs; and there is a great deal of price competition in sourcing media.  

  6. Hello Sir

    Om Enviro Solutions, located at Nashik, an independent environmental firm deals with wide range high quality of equipments and chemicals used in waste water treatment, Reverse Osmosis and zero liquid discharge

    We will offer high quality of equipment’s required for the treatment of the waste water generated by specific industries, which will give us encouraging and desired result with in the permissible limits of pollution control boards norms.

    Equipments

    We offer the following equipment’s as per the quantity of waste water generated and the treatment processes.

    Agitator / flash mixer

    Tube Settler

    Pumps like dosing pumps, centrifugal pumps, sludge suction pumps.

    Oil & Grease Separators

    Filter Press

    Air Blowers

    Diffuser

    Micron filter

    Acf & sf

    Ro membrane etc ,

    We have a team of experts with good exposure to the process calculation and designing of the waste water treatment plants.

    Chemicals

    We offer the following chemicals which are genuine and result oriented.

    Dosing Chemicals like

    Alum

    Poly electrolyte

    PAC

    Lime

    Antiscalents

    RO Chemicals etc.,

    We do provide specialized chemicals for the biological treatment processes.

    Bio-cultures

    Enzymes 

    Micronutrients

    Odor control bio agents

    Features of our products are

     

    ·         High Efficiency

    ·         Effective in working

    ·         Result oriented 

    We have a team of expert who are experienced in stabilizing the treatment process of Effluent treatment plant of various industries like leather tanneries, Textiles, Dairy, Pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food and beverages as well as Sewage Treatment Plants,

    We are ready to undertake stabilization projects also.

    Hence I request you to give us a chance to make your name in our client list as well as to achieve encouraging results in waste water Treatment

    Regards

    Anita Patil

    Manager

    OM ENVIRO SOLUTIONS

    1930, SAMTA NAGAR, M.H.B. COLONY, SATPUR, 

    NASHIK - 422007,  MAHARASHTRA, INDIA 

    PHONE NO.: 9823709577, 8754321380  

    Mail Id.: omenvirosolution@gmail.com

    1 Comment

  7. I already wrote to You that this site will be enough for the reconstruction of wastewater treatment plants and still have room for soccer fields !!! Our equipment takes place FIVE TIMES less than the biology and consumes FOUR times less electric energy construction and Assembly work 30% lower analogues, the cost of construction of sewage treatment plants is equivalent to 550 $ US for 1 cubic meter of wastewater . ($550 x X effluent = the cost of the equipment) my address: tumentsev@inbox.ru

  8. Hi Anish

    Can you give your contact no. so that we can discuss.

    Best regards

    Santosh

  9. Hi Anish

    could you please give more details:

    • plant capacity max, avg, min
    • required capacity increase 
    • wastewater quality data. Is there any pre-treated industrial wastewater included?
    • available additional space in the STP site
    • structures dimensions
    • type and status of present equipment 
    • any tests on quality of concrete structures available?
    • Maximum available budget for upgrading STP

    You could post here data or on email

    marinav@ikconseng.com

     

     

  10. Best solution is the DIP System. Direct InLine sewage pumping - no wet well, no clogs, lower install costs, energy efficient and very low maintenence. http://www.imexconsultinggroup.com/side-industries---dip-system

  13. Anish, be advised that you need to get someone who knows what they are doing - unless you are a student and this is just an exercise which you need to complete for your dissertation????

  14. uploaded a plant layout above. please suggest  the treatment methods that can be replaced or improved to make the plant more energy efficient and cost effective.

    thank you.

  15. Following steps can be taken

    • Screening and degritting upgrades
    • Chemical system improvements
    • Primary clarifier upgrades
    • New secondary treatment (Biological Aerated Filter (BAF) technology)
    • New ultraviolet disinfection system
    • Solids train upgrades
    • Existing digester and dewatering facility improvements
    • New standby power system
    • Automation of entire facility
    • Electrical system upgrades
    • Pumping station upgrades

    1 Comment

    1. thank you so much for the Pdf.

      It was very helpful to get the information i needed.

  16. If You really want to get acquainted with INNOVATIVE technology that allows you to shred the sewage TO a SMALLER ( five times) SQUARE, WITH FEWER ( FOUR TIMES) cost of electricity - COME TO US. We have the data from the treatment plant operates on complex drains more than 6 years. The cost of electricity for cleaning and disinfecting one cubic meter amount to not more than 0.7 kW. Equipment and technology we have developed ourselves. They themselves produce the equipment for any number of drains. Wastewater treatment is nearly instantaneous. So if You are really interested in reconstruction, we welcome you. On actual production will be easier to explain and show.  tumentsevs   tumentsevs@gmail.com 

  19. The energy consumption of the aerated system can be lowered significantly by using Delta Hybrid blowers from Aerzen. Fine bubble plate diffusers will also reduce the energy consumption. I've seen this happen at Dutch water authorities. Also remember that modern pumps and things like soft starters have a significant lower energy consumption than stuff from the 80's. The Dutch water authorities have a major focus on energy reduction the last years. This to lower the carbon footprint and to lower the operational costs. You can ask them for independent advice, they are willing to share their knowledge with countries outside Europe. 

    Then some not so independent advice; The BIOPAQ®UBOX from Paques is a combination of anaerobic and aerobic waste water treatment build on top of eachother. Due to the anaerobic part, the energy consumption is much lower than in a fully aerated system. We have very good experiences with these system on communal waste water in Brazil. Paques has a sales office and a brand new factory in the south of India. So that could be a good option for your case.

     http://en.paques.nl/products/featured/biopaq/biopaqubox

  20. Anish, the answer is not easy as it requires a variety of factors like treated effluent parameters, the extent of treatment desired, land area available, the increase in the capacity etc.  Best would be to engage an experienced and unbiased consultant to audit the existing set up and then, suggest a suitable upgradation. Many companies will offer solutions suited to what they offer as a system, which may not be the best for your situation. Again, the muncipal outfits may not want to go for solutions,, which may be better than the existing processes. All stakeholders need to buy in an optimum solution.

  21. you ​need to ​undertake a ​very detailed ​Techanical audit to ​clearly assess ​design, ​construction (​including ​modifications ​if any), ​updated service ​conditions and ​your targets. ​Only at this ​stage you will ​be in position ​to talk about ​technology.

  23. Anish, You first need to get someone who knows what they are doing to represent you as client. Other wise you will get everyone trying to SELL you their solution regardless of outcome. Suggest you contact the expert in Chennai - Dr S Sundaramoorthy on (0091) 94440 52434.

  24. Hi Anish,

     

    We are based in Indonesia and I believe that many users are facing your difficulties. Many STP are old, their maintenance has been overlooked for years and owners face now critical challenges to meet at same time new regulations and fair return on investment. We have been involved retrofitting several STP over the last 5 years and indeed the task is not easy, when most drawings have disappear, specs and SOP totally neglected, breakdowns not recorded... If you do not have the budget to replace your failing STP, the common starting point is that you need to undertake a very detailed audit to clearly assess design, construction (including modifications if any), updated service conditions and your targets. Only at this stage you will be in position to talk about technology. We could communicate more in detail if you like. Do not forget to include in your financial calculations, the ongoing maintenance contract, the missing income from poor production, the potential fines from government, the energy impact ...

    Good luck 

  26. Could you please let me know the STP's which need improvement? As far as I know there are no old STP's in Hyderabad Most of them are built after 2000 and are tertiary level treatment plants, One old STP was also upgraded long back.

    1 Comment

    1. Yes Zafferullah, most of them are built after 2000...but the major part is still "old-fashioned". Many Contractors still provide ditch and extended aeration biological plants, though cheaper  and more advantageous Technologies are available ever since...
      The fact is that You are right.
      Regards

  27. There are a myriad of options available for upgrading, if you can provide a little more info on plant flow rates and effluent qualities now and after the upgrade we can suggest a few methods.

    A packaged upgrade these days is normally the most effective cost and process option as it removes the need for large civil works ( not in all cases mind you), provided some of the existing infrastructure can be reused successfully.

    Look forward to receiving more info from you.

    Kind Regards

    Greg Horton - greg@akwaworx.com 

  29. Hi Anish

    We specialize in water and wastewater treatment please see the attachment below for upgrades or you can mail me direct at steven@circuit.co.za

  32. Anish, see our web site www.biodaf.com, you will see a lot of information that can give you a good idea what we can do for your project, if you like it we will need information ofn existing infraestructure of the WWTP, analisys of the influent water, and quality or standard you need in the treated water. See our video collection, hame my best

    Marcos De La Monja Carter

    marcos@biodaf.com  

  33. Dear Anish

    Such questions can not be answered without knowing the technology background of the person who will read the answer. Are you a waste water treatment specialist? On this forum different people will offer you different answers. Are you competent to compare and evaluate them? Your Q says "We are working . . . ", who is "we"? A water treatment company? An NGO?

     

  34. Anish,

    I would strongly encourage you to seek out an experienced engineering consultant who has worked in India or other similar environments in addition to having extensive experience upgrading wastewater treatment facilities. I would strongly encourage you to NOT hire a manufacturer of engineering technology without doing a broad survey of possible technologies by an unbiased engineer.  Your engineer will need to review the status of the existing facilities, identify capacity needs and then compare alternative strategies for upgrade. Working with a single manufacturer from the start may seem like the most efficient way to proceed, but it will almost certainly lead you only to that manufacturer's technology. That may not be the most sustainable result for your facilities. Remember the experience of the Ganga Action Project where one country's technologies were applied because that country had provided the funds for the upgrade. The result was inappropriate technology which did not solve the massive problem of Ganga pollution. It is important that your evaluation be unbiased by commercial interest and be done by an engineer with truly wide experience in the industry and with facilities like yours.

    Best wishes in your project,

    Randal

    3 Comments

    1. Anish, I am going to seem to go against my advice here. After looking at your flow sheet, the one process that I would be looking at for upgrade of your facilities would be a granular activated sludge process. This was developed by Mark Van Loosdrecht at Delft. (http://www.tudelft.nl/en/current/latest-news/article/detail/mark-van-loosdrecht-wint-lee-kuan-yew-water-prize-2012/). But you should also be looking at more conventional processes, like activated sludge or improved separation technology. Do this with the help of an experienced engineer who is familiar with recent world-wide trends. Mark would be a good person to contact to get started. Best regards, Randal Samstag

    2. Anish, I didn't notice the image files attached to your post when I first replied. Your files indicate that you have "claritube" settlers for sludge separation from a fixed film system of some kind. This could well be one of the sources of your problem. These have been very aggressively designed in the past by manufacturers of these devices. I have designed lamella separators for a client in the distant past, based on manufacturer's recommendations. I wish that I hadn't. Subsequent work that my colleagues and I have done using computational fluid dynamics analysis indicates that these types of devices can fail at rates significantly lower than the aggressive rates often mentioned by manufacturers and textbooks. This makes me even more concerned that you not put your faith in one manufacturer, but in an engineering advisor with wide experience and knowledge. I see dozens of comments by manufacturers here. It is fine to be aware of these, but I strongly advise that you not follow their advice prior to doing an unbiased study by an experienced and knowledgeable engineer. The EPA document posted above is a good place to start. EPA hasn't done any really significant research in wastewater treatment since 1980. You really need to seek out the advice of an experienced engineer. Best wishes, Randal Samstag

  35. Dear, Anish, 

    Upflow bio-filtration is very efficient regarding organics  removal from municipal wastewater. Reduction in O&M costs and area minimization. 

  36. Wastewater Wizard will be visiting Delhi's Water India 2017 exhibition 2 - 4th February at the Pragati Maidan.  As well as looking for potential Indian partners (primarily with a civil engineering background) we would be more than happy to provide solutions to existing sites.  Our Wizard technology uses vermifiltration (using worms to treat wastewater), delivering a performance on par with existing biological systems but using 75% less energy.  Please  PM me if you would like more details or even better arrange a meeting whilst we are in Delhi.

  37. Dear Anish, friends in the Czech Republic have developed and implemented their USBF technology (Upflow Sludge Blanket Filtration) for the last 25 years and very often the objective is the upgrade of an existing WWTP. They have a reference in India realized with a Tata - Company five years ago. Please write me in an email to put you in touch with our partners in the Czech Republic, we for our part focus on the Mexican market. My email is marc.wehmeijer@think-tim.mx   

  38. Dear Anish, please write an E-Mail to me. We have a technology witch allows to work with the existing technic, with lower cost and more efficiency. info@baleari.de Sincerly yours Heidi

  39. Hi Anish. A treatment process that is low cost, low footprint, low carbon is the Kaldnes process. It is highly user configurable to most types of wastewater. I managed a works with 24 large filters (area of a football pitch) and all these have been replaced by one Kaldnes tower (area of a double garage). Hope this helps you.

  40. Anish,

    There is some unique technology that we are incorporating for upgrading existing wastewater treatment facilities for India.

    We are an Indian company possessing technology that addresses the cost center concept of old sewage treatment plants. Most plants are heavy consumers of electricity, calling for expensive CAPEX upgrade + OPEX operating expenditure of O&M.

    The major problem with sewage treatment plants is that as the O&M expenses are huge, water utilities find it hard to make ends meet and therefore I call them cost centers.

    With our MAST technology wastewater treatment plants we use very little energy and in the process we are net energy producers. 

    Our plants produce their own electricity to operate pumps and equipments on the sewage treatment process.

    Our MAST technology (Microbe Algae Sewage Treatment) plants operate on the principle of super saturated oxygen provided by the microalgae. The MAST technology only requires 3 variable inputs, firstly nutrients found naturally in the sewage wastewater, carbon dioxide that is provided by the microbes as well as the carbon dioxide available from the atmosphere and lastly sunlight. 

    Our MAST Technology wastewater treatment plants are carbon negative as they work on drawing carbon dioxide from the air as well as the microbes in the wastewater. There is a symbiotic relationship between the microbe and algae. While the algae provides oxygen to the microbes to grow and multiply so that the wastewater can be treated the microbes give out carbon dioxide that is taken up by the algae. 

    The algae biomass that is harvested is then extracted for carbohydrates and lipids, thus giving you Acetone, Butanol, Ethanol, Methanol  etc from the carbohydrates and Biodiesel from the lipids. 

    The tertiary treated wastewater is recycled and reused for agriculture, industry and commercial buildings for washing, mopping, flushing and gardening thus reducing the water stress.

    We assist not only in the upgrade but provide policy thrust and advice to the state government as well and how best to utilize the resource. 

    We are right now going through the process of negotiating a sewage treatment facility at Gujarat for an upgrade to the new CPHEEO guidelines of BOD5 being less than 10 mg/liter. 

    In case of land footprint we require land but we also provide solutions to pump the wastewater out of city limits where land is available and then to set up the facility to take advantage of a low energy technology to treat the wastewater. 

    You can get in touch with me at advenvtech@gmail.com or reach me at 09821550316.

  41. If b you need to improve aerobic organisms please consider The G7water catalyst. Provides increased oxygenation and hydrogenation.  Italian add study available. 

  43. What kind of WWTP are they ?  Do they use Lagoons or the normal  process ?

    there are ways to increase the input capacity but it does depend on what kind of system you are working with.   

  45. Hi.

    You will need to know

    1. what equipment that you have.
    2. What load were you treating
    3. what load for upgrade
    4. budget

  46. We are centrifugal decanter manufacturing and we have a good experience in the sludge managment. We already deliver our plants to India. Please look at the enclosed file and feel free to contact us according to your needs.

  48. Our Treatment, Optimization and Design (TOD) software can offer many types of upgrades for existing systems.  We provide the equipment and tell where to place walls depending on the treatment process desired.  roger@wedotanks.com

  49. Hi

           We are a water tech innovation company in the UK. We may be of use for your upgrading process. Please feel free to linkin or message here. Thank you. 

    3 Comments