Ingeobras (BIOBOX®) has led the design, installation and commissioning of its Puremust-SN® (BIOBOX Nitrates) technology in a drinking water treatment plant. This heterotrophic biological denitrification DWTP is designed for a maximum capacity of 20 cubic metres per hour. The input concentration of nitrates is 80 milligrams per litre and the output after treatment is below 40 milligrams per litre.
DWTP Heterotrophic biological denitrification at Calaf:
A DWTP is a drinking water treatment plant where water is made drinkable. The objective of a DWTP is the treatment of raw water, in this case from groundwater, to make it suitable for human consumption (drinking water).
In this case, we are going to talk about a real success story of a biological denitrification drinking water treatment plant in Calaf:
DWTP Heterotrophic biological denitrification at Calaf: Project description
This project involves the construction of a biological denitrification plant for the purification of drinking water in the village of Calaf, Catalonia. The plant was built by Roma Infraestrucutres i serveis, together with Vitaqua, under the design, installation and commissioning guidelines of INGEOBRAS (BIOBOX).
BIOBOX Nitrates has led the design, installation and commissioning of this drinking water treatment plant with a maximum capacity of 20 cubic metres per hour. The inlet concentration of nitrates is 80 milligrams per litre and the outlet after treatment is below 40.
It is a project that integrates a proprietary patented technology called Puremust-SN. This technology is capable of biologically transforming nitrates into harmless nitrogen gas. The pollutant is completely eliminated without rejects.
It is a technology that has been optimised to the maximum, has numerous project references and has been certified by the official certification company SGS.
In this plant, the first thing to be done is an inlet measurement of the nitrate concentration of the raw water from the reservoir. By means of this pumping body, the water is pumped to the next stage. It is made up of a series of filters, operating in parallel, where the biological denitrification is carried out.
The design consists of three filters, where the flow is divided.
The filters use an extremely porous filter material, Filtralite, as a carrier. It is an ideal material for biological denitrification by heterotrophic microbial organisms.
After biological treatment, disinfection is carried out with an ultraviolet lamp. At the same stage, a measurement of the key parameters is performed.
With another pumping unit, the water is pumped to the next stage. This is simply the conditioning of the water in terms of its organoleptic parameters, including aeration and filtration.
The resulting water is fully potable and is stored in a tank where nitrates are constantly measured in real time.
This plant is fully automated without the need for staff to physically operate it on a continuous basis. The cost per cubic metre treated is very competitive, around 50% lower than reverse osmosis and with very low energy consumption.
This technology has all the process guarantees, provides robustness, security against changes, low operation and maintenance requirements. It also provides real-time control data.
We are very proud of the development of the project, which once again provided this village with a quality water supply.
Technologies used:
Plant characteristics:
- Treated flow rate: 20 m3/h
- Input of nitrates: 80 mg/l
- Output of nitrates: < 40 mg/l (RD140/2003 requires less than 50)
Treatment process:
- 1- Input measurement of nitrate concentration of water
- 2- Biological denitrification by biofiltration
- 3- Disinfection with ultraviolet lamp and measurement of key parameters
- 4- Conditioning of the water in terms of organoleptic parameters including aeration and filtration.