The long-standing successful collaboration between a leading food manufacturer and EnviroChemie is being continued with a new expansion project in industrial wastewater treatment. EnviroChemie has been successfully operating the existing wastewater plant on site for many years. Due to increased production volumes and the resulting need to expand the existing water treatment facility, the customer once again selected EnviroChemie to carry out the comprehensive plant expansion at the site. The new water treatment plant will be precisely tailored to the growing production volumes in potato processing. The goal is to increase capacity from 1,800 m³ per day to up to 2,300 m³ per day.
The new, technologically complex, multi-stage plant concept consistently focuses on efficient closed-loop management, recovering wastewater not only through treatment but also as a valuable resource. The treatment process begins with mechanical pre-treatment using Flomar® dissolved air flotation (DAF), before the wastewater is directed to the anaerobic stage, Biomar® ASBx. Here, organic loads are specifically utilized to generate biogas. A further anaerobic process, the Biomar® AKB reactor, additionally increases energy yield. In this reactor, the resulting sludge is digested, significantly reducing residual waste volumes. The additional biogas generated enables savings of up to 2,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year, substantially lowering CO₂ emissions.
Further treatment is carried out via the aerobic biological stage, Biomar® OSB. To achieve the targeted water recycling, this is complemented by Biomar® OMB ultrafiltration to form a membrane bioreactor (MBR). In combination with Envopur® RO reverse osmosis, the wastewater is treated to a high quality, allowing the previously used water to be returned directly to the production process. This modern closed-loop system increases the recycling rate from 40% to over 50%, sustainably reduces the site’s water footprint, and conserves regional groundwater resources. The customer is thus setting new benchmarks for sustainable, water-efficient production in the food industry.
In addition to planning and constructing the wastewater treatment plant, the collaboration also includes ongoing on-site operation by the EnviroChemie team. The phased implementation and full commissioning of the expanded plant technology are scheduled to be completed by 2028.
