Reducing COD levels in wastewater at a biofuel plant

This plant in Spain processes local food waste and garbage, such as animal fats and vegetable oils, into biodiesel. Wastewater from the production process contains organics from these fats and oils. 

Before discharge into the environment, COD levels in the water must be reduced to below 100 mg/L. The water is purified in a two-stage process: a physico-chemical treatment, followed by a biological treatment plant. 

This process has been designed to handle a flow rate of 1 m³/h and an average COD concentration in the waste water stream of around 250-300 mg/L. However, COD concentrations are not steady: they can peak as high as 600 mg/L, rendering the treatment process unable to reduce levels satisfactorily. 

The authorities therefore issued the company with a notice that it faced penalties if it could not meet the terms of its permit. The company takes its environmental obligations very seriously, and was eager to find a solution to improve, rather than replace, its existing system. 

DESOTEC had contacted the company several years previously about a separate potential project. Early in 2020, the company contacted us to enquire whether activated carbon might be effective for their waste water treatment. 

The client is very satisfied with DESOTEC’s service. We responded promptly, investigated thoroughly, and provided a solution that worked. 

It is now carrying out a pilot test using the smaller DESOTEC filters between the physico-chemical and biofiltration stages of the waste water treatment, to flatten the peaks and maintain COD concentrations at a steady level. 

It is also considering trialling a filter during the production process, to remove impurities from glycerine. This is the issue for which we originally contacted the company several years ago. 

DESOTEC always provides a comprehensive service to clients, carrying out lab and industrial tests to arrive at an effective solution. 

Our mobile filters can be adapted to existing treatment systems. Therefore, clients do not need to make the major investment of replacing installations, but can simply reinforce them with DESOTEC units. 

Clients do not handle the waste themselves, as recycling the spent carbon is part of our service. We transport the closed filter units safely to our site in Belgium, where we test samples to determine how to store and treat it. All molecules that were adsorbed onto the filters are desorbed in our reactivation furnaces, then destroyed in an incineration and neutralisation set-up in accordance with national and EU legislation. The entire installation and its emissions are under continuous online monitoring, which guarantees that only harmless water vapour exits the chimneys.