In 2018 Ingeobras, a company that works closely with BIOBOX®, carried out a project installing a denitrification water treatment plant in Falset, Tarragona. In this project Filtralite® Pure was used as a support for the biofilm (Material of the company Filtralite, co-founder of BIOBOX®) and the biological denitrification technology Puremust-sn®.
It was a project designed for a well in the village of Falset (Tarragona, Spain). It had high levels of nitrates NO3– and arsenic As3+ above the limit values established according to the regulations (RD 140/2.003). In addition, this well supplied 20% of the population of Falset. Therefore, it was an important source of water for the municipality.
In order to guarantee the supply of quality water from the existing catchments, it was necessary to design and build a drinking water treatment plant. Ingeobras’ technical staff designed and installed a Biological Denitrification Equipment that integrated the filtering material Filtralite® Pure and its own technology developed by Ingeobras, Puremust-sn®. The DWTP was designed with denitrification and filtration stages and with control and automation elements to optimize the automatic operation of the installation. In this way it is possible to have a detailed control of what was going on in the plant. The value of key parameters below the established standards is also ensured.
For this project, the amount of backwash water required is between 0.5 and 1% of the total water produced. The quality of the backwash water allows its discharge into the sewage system or its reuse in agriculture.
In conclusion, this design for denitrifying working in a biofilter is the best option, in terms of water quality and cost. The process is the most robust and reliable with a strong component of economic and environmental sustainability.
Technologies used:
BIBOX Nitrates (Puremust-sn®)
BIBOX Arsenic
Plant characteristics:
Design flow rate: 20 m3/h
Inlet nitrates: 60 – 70 milligrams/liter
Outlet nitrates: < 40 milligrams/liter (RD140/2003 requires less than 50)
Inlet arsenic: 20 micrograms/liter
Outlet arsenic: <2 micrograms/liter (RD140/2003 requires less than 10)
Filter material: Filtralite®Pure
Plant steps:
The treatment line of the denitrification Drinking Water Treatment Plant in Falset consists of three steps:
- Denitrification anoxic biofilter
- Filtration to remove suspended solids
- Chlorine disinfection to eliminate microbiology as in any DWTP.