Project Details

Project Delivery

Project Results

Discussion

Situation

Despite the UK’s exit from the European Union, PET bottle recycling wastewater treatment is one of the most significant efforts to protect the environment. Over the past decade, the rate of PET recycling in the UK has increased to 58%. PET bottle recycling is one of the most important components of this. This produces wash water, into which mainly BOD₅, COD and detergents are mixed.

The recycling company for PET bottles asked PPU for a solution for their wastewater. The company owns its own building in which the entire recycling plant is set up. The solution for PET bottle recycling wastewater treatment should be integrated directly into the recycling process and be close to the washing process. The customer wants partial reuse of the wastewater in the recycling process as well as partial discharge into a public body of water.

Problem

The challenge in this project was, on the one hand, the limited space in the recycling hall. The solution therefore had to be compact enough to be connected directly to the washing process and not require long inflows into the plant. On the other hand, the customer wanted 80 % reuse of the treated wastewater so that only 20 % fresh water had to be added. The rest was to be purified to direct discharge quality.

Solution

For this project, PPU offered the customer a system combination of ClearFox® DAF and ClearFox® FBBR. At the beginning, a mechanical screen sieves all coarse solids out of the wastewater. Then the wastewater enters the flotation plant. This reliably removes between 95 and 99 % of all dissolved and non-dissolved substances from the wastewater. In the process, it lowers the BOD₅, COD and TSS content to such an extent that the customer can easily feed the wastewater back into the recycling process. This process is particularly cost-efficient for the customer, which is why he opted for a ClearFox® solution.

However, the wastewater treated by the flotation plant is not yet suitable for direct discharge. For this purpose, PPU offered an FBBR module in a tank. The water quality after biological treatment is perfectly suitable for discharge into a public water body. Since all other components are compact and modular, they find a place directly at the washing process.

ClearFox® solutions actively contribute to protecting the environment. All systems not only clean the wastewater from the recycling process, they also work with the most advanced technology, thus reducing operating costs to a minimum. A 24/7 service is available to every customer after purchase, who is happy to answer any questions or carry out maintenance work.