THE CLIENT
Our Hungarian client is one of the biggest multinational companies in Central Europe in the field of bio-ethanol production. The client produces annually up to 450 million litres of renewable corn ethanol. Morover, the factory produces 325,000 tons of Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS), which can be used as food for domestic animals. An additional by-product is corn oil, which is another element in the diet of several animals. The company is one of the biggest employers in the region, as it offers jobs to more than 2000 people.
The main goals of the new wastewater treatment installation were to clean wastewater thoroughly to comply with the environmental regulations, to reuse water in the production process and to guarantee energy for the plant, as all the actions were taken to.reduce operational costs of the whole plant. The amount of wastewater generated by the factory is 1250 m3/day and the COD parameters for the concentrate reach 3500 mg/l.
POSITIVE INNOVATION
Symbiona proposed two technology combined in one system:
- ROVAPO® components and
- AnoxyBed™-EGSB – anaerobic high rate reactor.
The installation treats the effluents from the DDGS production (stillage) and concentrates from ROVAPO.
ROVAPO® is the zero-liquid-discharge system owned by SYMBIONA. This technology has been being developed since 2007. It allows a very effective water recovery, also of supreme quality. Thanks to the unique features of the system, the production plant may substantially reduce its operational expenses, as it produces water ready to be re-used in the production process. The energy consumption is reduced to minimum, as well.
The anaerobic EGSB reactors are a well-proven solution which use methane fermentation and then generate biogas. The technology guarantees the operation stability thanks to the automatically regulated system of external recirculation. The unique influent distribution system and bottom sludge separators are preventing the formation of biogas channels make the system flexible and resistant to changes in the given influent composition. Thus, the risk of granulated sludge loss is reduced in comparison with traditional solutions.
Both technologies used to warrant the complete reduction of COD, to produce biogas for the client (even 20% more than in conventional solutions) and to provide exceptionally high water reuse (up to 98%) and a sludge reduction. This lets the client obtain substantial savings, which may be used in further development of the production plant.
BENEFITS
The client obtains very clean water ready to be reused. The system also allows a stable biogas production, which means that the green fuel producer also obtains green energy from his own wastewater. The green footprint is reduced to minimum.
