Treating vapour condensate – reducing water footprint

Solution

After a thorough analysis of the company’s processes, our industry experts suggested an Envopur® ReVap plant solution. This process combines a Biomar® biological treatment and an Envopur® membrane process. The substances contained in the vapour condensate are first biodegraded then filtered off via biofilters, after which microorganisms and residual turbidity are removed by ultrafiltration. Finally, salts and any remaining organic substances are removed by reverse osmosis.

Benefits

The dairy cleans approx. 120 m3 of vapour condensate an hour and, with the new plant solution, can reduce the volume of wastewater to 15–20 percent. The water recovered can be used in a variety of ways: as rinse water, cooling tower make-up water or boiler feed water.

After actioning a treatment plant of this type, costs are around 0.75 euros per cubic metre of water, including depreciation and operating costs. The membrane technology ensures it is germ-free and reverse osmosis means it is particularly low in salt.

Treatment can make commercial sense from as little as 25 m³ vapour condensate an hour. If the price of fresh water or wastewater is particularly high, the process can be worthwhile at 10 m³ per hour.