Wastewater treatment for a dairy 

For a dairy, wastewater treatment is an important part of the production process. The production of the various dairy products often generates very large amounts of wastewater. This must not be discharged untreated into the environment. A customer from southern Germany processes milk into milk powder and separates other substances such as lactose from the milk. Among other things, he separates the milk water from the solid components. 

For this project, the ClearFox® team regularly took water samples and analysed them for their components in the in-house laboratory. In the process, the staff found a strongly fluctuating pH value between 2.75 and 12.73 and a COD of maximum 16,000 mg/l as well as nitrate, calcium, and phosphorus. In addition, the wastewater temperature fluctuated between 18 and 58 °C. 

The challenge of this project was to expand the existing wastewater treatment plant. This consisted of a large basin on the company premises. The company first collects the wastewater in a tank on the premises. It then flows into the treatment basin at intervals. On the one hand, the system was getting on in years, on the other hand, the company had expanded its capacities, which is why it could no longer provide the required purification performance. 

For this project, the ClearFox® team designed a high-performance SBR treatment plant, which they installed in the treatment basin together with an agitator. This is where the treatment basin takes place. The SBR system supplies the microorganisms with oxygen and lets them grow. They produce an activated sludge that respires the dissolved substances in the wastewater.  

This project was particularly interesting for the ClearFox® team, as not many companies have their own treatment basin. The Bayreuth company supplied an associated dosing station with pH neutralisation as well as the associated switching technology in a sea container. Thus, the treatment plant is directly adapted to the customer’s wastewater.