The systematic introduction of pure oxygen at critical points along the wastewater process chain can help solve the issue of inadequate purification and rancid odours caused by anaerobic decomposition more effectively than industry-standard aeration alone.
Sub-Saharan gas market leader Afrox boasts a range of Solvox solutions that improve wastewater treatment plant performance without the need for costly construction or restructuring work. Often these solutions can be implemented without taking out plant capacity during the installation phase.Oxygen often overlooked
Afrox applications engineer Gareth Jones indicates that Solvox serves as a complementary support system to existing aeration systems. “Oxygen is often overlooked as a wastewater treatment solution because it is perceived to be more costly than air. “However, lower capital investments, reduced energy consumption and higher oxygen transfer efficiency can be more cost effective than traditional air-based systems. “Many local municipalities are unaware that Solvox can be retrofitted to any existing system to be used as back-up during peak demand, for example.” Jones explains that it is therefore unnecessary to expand overloaded activated sludge plants to cope with increased pollutant loads, and the rise in oxygen needed by the micro-organisms. The use of pure oxygen can also reduce the production of foaming and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions caused by excess off-gas from traditional air-based systems.
In certain situations the system’s solutions require no additional energy source to transfer oxygen into activated sludge tanks or lagoons, as there is sufficient agitation provided by the existing aeration equipment.
