Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade
Wastewater treatment plant upgrade for Recordati Ireland, an international pharmaceutical company. Recordati Ireland was established in 2002 and is based in Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork, the main activity of the company is the licensing, development, manufacture, sale and distribution of pharmaceutical products. Specifically, Recordati Ireland produces the active pharmaceutical ingredient of the anti-hypertensive product “Zanidip”.
Due to increases in production demand, flow to the wastewater treatment facility has risen by 58%. This increase along with the new Best Available Techniques (BAT) conclusions resulted in Recordati Ireland reviewing their Wastewater Treatment Plant (WwTP) for the most suitable, sustainable upgrade. WEW Engineering were engaged by Recordati Ireland to assist this review and the execution of the upgrade. WEW Engineering worked with FLI CAP Technology and FLI Water to deliver this project. The proposed upgrade was designed to be compliant with all continuous Common Waste Water (CWW) BATC1 monitoring requirements.
Wastewater Upgrade Highlights
Conversion of the existing aeration tank to a sequencing batch reactor (SBR).
Replacement of the clarifier with a membrane bioreactor (MBR) unit.
Final effluent control and recycle.
Extend and upgrade the Plant’s EICA system to cater for the proposed upgrade.
CHALLENGES
The emergence of Covid-19 during the project brought additional health and safety challenges. WEW Engineering worked together with Recordati Ireland and all contractors to ensure compliance with national and internal Recordati regulations to successfully prevent any on-site spread of the virus.
Program: Phase 1 of the project was successfully completed during a scheduled plant shutdown – while keeping the biomass viable to ensure seamless resumption of the WwTP. Due to travel restrictions as a result of Covid-19, the manufacturers of the MBR unit were unable to come to site to commission the unit. WEW Engineering worked closely with the on-site contractor and remotely with the manufacturer to ensure a successful MBR commissioning.
WEW ENGINEERING’S ROLE
Prepare requisitions for all necessary equipment and services.
Prepare particular specification and scope of work.
Prepare URS and P&IDs.
Project management, submittal approvals, budget management, site attendance and supervision.
Prepare and issue tender documentation.
Evaluate tender returns and recommend a preferred contractor.
Site attendance during the testing and commissioning period, whilst adhering to all site and national health and safety regulations and guidelines.
RESULTS, RETURN ON INVESTMENT AND FUTURE PLANS FOR THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
Using results from the beginning of 2020, the total nitrogen (TN) in the wastewater treatment plant (WwTP) effluent has decreased by over 80% after the sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was installed. The SBR was brought online in September 2020, which has succeeded in improving TN removal rates, which have increased from 31% to 87%, on average.
The chart shows TN removal percentages from the start of 2020 to the end of October 2021. The WwTP is fully capable of managing the increase in production at the facility. The WwTP is compliant with the current CWW BATC1 monitoring requirements and is future-proofed for a potential Industrial Emission Licence (IEL) review.
Reference:
- BATC decision 2016/902 (European Commission, 2016) for “Common waste water and waste gas treatment/ management systems in the chemical sector”.
Please contact WEW Engineering, if you require Wastewater Treatment solutions.