IWT - Off-Grid Containerized MABR WWTP

The client, RedMed Group has several remote mining camps, that require wastewater treatment to meet waste stream discharge limits. Taking into consideration these mining camps settings, several issues needed to be addressed, to deliver a fully functional treatment system:

1. Decentralized and/or off-grid locations require easy to ship and deploy, modular system with energy efficient processes to significantly reduce energy requirements for the operation.
2. BOD removal and the effluent quality must meet local guidelines for irrigation use, therefore the capacity of the treatment system needs to be easily increased if needed.
3. There should be no use of chemicals in wastewater treatment operations, therefore the biology needs to be robust and adjust well to changing wastewater characteristics and weather conditions.

The big challenge for this RedGroup project - Hassi Messaoud, is to deliver a system that combines all these attributes and it is easy to operate and maintain by local staff.

Solution

RedMed Group employed IWT to provide a wastewater treatment for their remote, off-grid mining camp in Hassi Messaoud, Algeria. The IWT used the OxyMem MABR module inside their REGEN+ system to provide a low energy cost-effective solution for treating the wastewater generated in the Hassi Messaoud mining camp.

OxyMem MABR system combines fixed film biology (biofilm) and innovative bubble-less aeration to deliver both efficient wastewater treatment and to significantly reduce the operation and maintenance costs of the system. Bubbleless aeration for the wastewater treatment reduces the energy requirements and therefore the off-grid powering of the reactor is possible. Then, this self-powered wastewater treatment solution can be used for municipal and industrial wastewater.

The cooperation between IWT and OxyMem resulted in delivering compact and self-sufficient wastewater treatment plant to off-grid location in RedMed’s remote mining camp in Hassi Messaoud. The installation of the REGEN+ system containing OxyMem MABRs performed by IWT was successful. The local staff were trained to operate the wastewater treatment plant and due to the ease of operation, they have been successfully running the system since April 2017. After only 6 weeks in operation, the effluent was exceeding local guidelines for irrigation quality.