Wastewater treatment is a crucial issue in ensuring the sustainability of industrial and agricultural activities.
In addition to being a legal requirement, as indicated by the Environmental Consolidation Act (Legislative Decree 152/2006), and therefore necessary for all production activities that generate this type of discharge, it is also a great opportunity for enterprises To communicate with stakeholders and enhance their commitment to sustainable production methods Environmentally speaking.
In this article, we will focus on wastewater treatment using oxygen, specifically the Mixflo® system, the biological wastewater treatment plant patented by the SIAD Group.
What is wastewater
Wastewater is discharge water from industrial, agricultural or domestic processes that contains pollutants.
The main sources of wastewater are:
- Industries (manufacturing and chemicals above all)
- Activities related to agriculture and animal husbandry
- Private dwellings and urban settlements
Wastewater can contain chemicals, bacteria, nutrients, solid particles, heavy metals, fatty oils, detergents, and other hazardous substances, so its treatment is essential to prevent water pollution and protect human health and the environment.
In fact, it is discharge water that has absorbed pollutants during its use in human activities and must be treated before being reused or released into waterways for:
- Remove pollutants and make water compatible with the receiving basin
- Preventing contamination of surface water and groundwater
- Avoiding the spread of disease
- Enable the safe reuse of water
Wastewater treatment in wine production
These waste waters are also generated in wine production processes, and as a result, wastewater treatment must be an integral part of the production process of wineries.
Wineries have increasingly equipped themselves with biological activated sludge purification systems, but traditional systems operating through air insufflation in the biological oxidation tank have shown limited advantages, however.
But what are the main ways that Siad offers for the efficiency of traditional wastewater treatment methods in wine production? Here they are:
- Water treatment with oxygen
- Water treatment with ozone
Let us analyze them, briefly, individually.
Water treatment with oxygen
The use of oxygen, replacing air, in wastewater treatment is representing a breakthrough in terms of purification efficiency and flexibility of operations.
The possible treatment systems in this macro area are:
- Pure oxygen for activated sludge process
- Pure oxygen for aerobic digestion of sludge
- Oxygen by chemical oxidation
Pure oxygen for activated sludge process
In this process, called activated sludge, the biomass in the slurry uses oxygen to grow and transform pollutants.
The use of pure oxygen makes it possible to:
- Eliminate or reduce aerosol emissions.
- Reduce the formation of waste biomass for disposal
- Have a flexible process according to the intensity of production (and thus of effluent)
- Simplify the conversion of existing facilities
Pure oxygen for aerobic digestion
Waste biological sludge from the treatments performed must also be treated in turn. It is necessary to dehydrate them and in some cases remove the pathogens present before disposal.
In this, aerobic digestion by pure oxygen contributes to the decrease of biomass to be disposed of and the reduction of its putrescibility, allowing:
- Effectively oxygenate high concentration activated sludge
- Reduce foam formation
- Improve the performance of the sludge dewatering system resulting in economic efficiency
Oxygen by chemical oxidation
Oxygen can also be used as a chemical oxidizer to treat industrial effluents containing reducing substances such as sulfides, sulfites and mercaptans, and metals.
Trattamento dell’acqua con ozono
Ozone is defined as an allotropic form of oxygen and must be produced on-site with special generators that originate high-voltage, medium-to-high-frequency electrical discharges.
Ozone is a very powerful oxidizer, second only to fluorine, and provides a low environmental impact, so it is used in the removal of organic or metallic contaminants and as a sterilizing agent for microorganisms, especially in industrial wastewater treatment.
Biological wastewater purification: the Mixflo® plant.
To provide an answer to the viticulture sector in line with new needs, SIAD has developed an innovative technology that can ensure enormous benefits on two fronts: effectiveness and environmental friendliness.
In general, this type of treatment allows operation on up to 2-3 times the amount of effluent with the advantage of not having to make major structural interventions.
The need to implement a system to solubilize pure oxygen in mixed liquor arose as early as the early 1980s, when SIAD wanted to provide an answer to the limitations, often encountered during winter periods, in aerobic digestion processes of superfluous sludge from air-based wastewater treatment plants.
Basically, it occurred that in the winter period the aerobic digestion of sludge was greatly slowed down due to the low thermal level reached in the reactor.
From these studies between the correlation of tank temperature and air effects came the development of the Mixflo system
Out of this need comes Mixflo®, SIAD’s patented system for biological water purification through oxygenation.
Purifying capacity
For over thirty years we have been engaged in the field of biological sewage treatment, studying and offering increasingly innovative technical solutions to enhance sewage treatment plants, exploiting the characteristics of gases: ozone to reduce residual colors and micropollutants, pure oxygen to eliminate the aerosol phenomenon, consequent instead to the use of air.
Research has enabled SIAD to patent the Mixflo® plant, a high-performance system for injecting pure oxygen into biological purification compartments. A system that proves particularly adapted to the wine sector.
The introduction of oxygen to upgrade air plants significantly increases the purification capacity, without intervening in the plant structure.
The use of the Mixflo® system makes it possible to double (at least) the amount of treated effluent for the same volume of biological reactor. The water treatment plant is thus able to cope with the pollutant loads characteristic of the harvest period, with low investment costs.
Respect for the environment
The use of oxygen also makes it possible to drastically limit the production of aerosols and odors from the purification compartment: theO2 dissolved in water, in fact, promotes the action of biomass that metabolizes and destroys pollutant compounds while limiting dispersion into the air, allowing without polluting the surrounding environment for effective wastewater purification even in compact plants.
Learn more here about how to purify water without polluting the air.
Conclusions
The system, perfected over the years, is adaptable to existing structures: there are hundreds of systems installed throughout Italy. And for ex novo constructions, SIAD is able to offer state-of-the-art installations: flexible and compact in size, they are also capable of zero noise.
Optimization of wastewater treatment and purification processes in enology is at the core of our Group’s work, for more information here is our contact page or write to siad_environment@siad.eu or siad@siad.eu.
