UNIHA has conducted a feasibility study for a fertilizer plant located at the sea shore. The study target was to identify the optimum process to:
- Produce 100m³/h technical water (quality 1) from river water
- Produce the maximum amount of technical water (quality 2) from 500m³/h fertilizer production waste water (high organic carbon, nitrogen and dissolved solid loads)
- Liquid discharge to the sea in compliance with the local stringent effluent limits
The study was performed with the process simulation tool IPSEgo and yielded the process as shown in the following process flowsheet (W_d…dissolved matter, W_s…suspended matter). The reuse process consisted of settling, membrane bioreactor and reverse osmosis (RO). The RO concentrate needed nitrification-denitrification biofiltration, in order to reach the nitrogen effluent limit. The total plant recovery i.e. the ratio of the technical water and the feed flows was 87%.
