Project Description
Because India is currently facing an 18% deficit in power generation, Indian industries are
focused on finding ways to save energy in industrial processes and industrial waste management.
Many wastewater treatment facilities use aerators to maintain wastewater quality parameters
within regulation standards. The customer wanted to reduce energy in the aeration process in
order to maintain or improve the quality of the wastewater treated and to increase the
efficiency of the system. The reduction of foul odors and sludge production was also targeted.
The Philips wastewater treatment plant in Mohali is designed for a daily capacity of approximately 150 cubic meters/day. Daily inflows reach 150 cubic meter / day. The treated wastewater generated from the common facilities (serving 1,300 people) is then used for other purposes in the office complex, primarily gardening.
Table 1: Indian Environmental Regulation Standards
Goals
- Reduce energy consumption in wastewater treatment plant by 50% after one year operation with SCD Probiotics.
- All outflow standards established by regulations must be met; further reduction of baseline outflow results are desired (see Table 1).
- Reduce sludge production
- Reduce odors once aeration is stopped.
Methodology
The system is a Fluidized Aerobic Bed Bio Reactor (FAB) where the air is diffused from the bottom through diffusers/nozzles by two lobe air blowers. The secondary product made from ProBio Balance™ Plus was introduced to the system beginning August 1st, 2007. It is added to the equalization tank that receives the water inflow from canteen, restaurants, toilettes, and bathrooms.
Results
The goals of the project were achieved, with significant improvement in energy savings with continued improvement in water quality.
- Energy consumption was reduced by up to 54% when compared to previous year (month to month comparisons - see Table II);
- Mean Wastewater Characteristics improved after the application of SCD Probiotics (see Table III);
In addition, the following benefits were realized:
- Sludge production was reduced.
- Odor from the waste water treatment operation was eliminated.
- Maintenance of the water water treatment operation was easier and less expensive than in previous years.
- Setup and cost for the probiotic applications were minimal; all expenses associated with the project were within budget and a postive return on the investment was achieved.
Due to the success in saving energy in the Mohali WWT plant, Philips Electronics India Limited has initiated the same program in two additional sites; Vadodara, Gujarat and Philips Innovation Campus (PIC) in Bangalore.
Table II: Energy consumption reduced up to 54%
Table III: Mean Waste Water Characteristics (April-July 2007) Prior to SCD Probiotics
Applications and Mean Wastewater Characteristics (August 2008) after SCD
Probiotics Application
