Malting Plant Upgrade with New Puron®
Submerged Membrane Technology a Proven Success
Koch
Membrane Systems (KMS) reports the continued success of 16 PURON®
submerged modules used by malting company Sobelgra, operating within the
largest industrial membrane bioreactor plant in Belgium. As part of a plant
upgrade, PURON modules were installed by Belgian contractor Enprotech in 2004,
doubling the capacity of the treatment plant while utilizing the existing
infrastructure.
The
system was engineered by another Belgian company, See:Water. Commenting on the
installation, Olaf Hanssen of See:Water said, “The modules have now been in
continual operation for 18 months and during that time have provided faultless
service and constant superior filtrate quality.”
Sobelgra,
which produces malt for breweries, is located in Antwerp harbour and is part of the multinational Boortmalt group. The
capacity upgrade of the Sobelgra facility makes it the largest independent
malting company in Belgium. The expansion meant that the existing conventional
wastewater treatment plant also had to be increased. However, due to lack of
room in the factory, conventional technology could not be used. PURON modules
were selected because they could be installed in the limited available space.
PURON
MBR modules are manufactured by Koch Membrane Systems GmbH and are available
for purchase from KMS. They significantly improve wastewater quality, while
utilizing less space than conventional alternatives. The unique single header
design and the extremely effective PURON aeration system ensures optimal solids
management, high flow rate and reliable operation while using 50 percent less
energy than other MBR systems. The membranes installed at Sobelgra now have a
total processing capacity of 2,000 m3/day
(0.5 MGD).
The
treatment plant consists of three processes: a mechanical pretreatment step, a
biological treatment step and a membrane filtration step. After removal of the
residual coarser materials from barley processing by means of two curved
screens, the wastewater is fed into the biological treatment step of the plant,
which consists of two aeration tanks connected in series. In the final step,
the biologically cleaned water is separated from the activated sludge by means
of PURON submerged membrane filtration.
“The
membranes have exceeded our expectations and we are very happy with KMS who we
view as a valuable supplier and reliable partner for submerged membrane
systems,” concluded Olaf Hanssen.
About
Koch Membrane Systems
Koch Membrane Systems, Inc. has been a
global leader in separation and filtration products for more than 30 years. A designer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art membrane
cartridges and elements, as well as complete membrane systems, KMS products are
specified for the most demanding applications. To enhance membrane performance,
KMS offers a line of antiscalants and cleaning chemicals, and provides a wide
range of maintenance and technical service programs. The company has supplied
membranes for more than 15,000 systems installed around the world, serving the
food processing, life sciences, and general manufacturing industries, as well
as providing potable water and wastewater treatment technologies for
communities of all sizes.
Koch Membrane Systems GmbH is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Koch Membrane Systems, which is a Koch Chemical Technology Group,
LLC company. KMS is based in Wilmington, Mass. For more information on Koch
Membrane Systems and its full line of membranes and accessory products, visit www.kochmembrane.com,
call 1-978-694-7000 or write to info@kochmembrane.com.
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