Pleiade® Membrane Bioreactors provide cost-effective, high-performance solution for treating complex and concentrated effluent

(Lyon - June 15th, 1999)
Orelis has installed a membrane bioreactor for Belgium's Herenthout Tank Cleaning at the company's effluent treatment plant in Antwerp. The project was carried out in partnership with MTD of Belgium and represents a capital investment of FRF 3 million (BEF 18 million). The bioreactor will enable Herenthout Tank Cleaning, which provides tank truck cleaning services, to enhance the performance of its biological treatment plant with a 30% increase in capacity.

A fully automated treatment plant

On average, Herenthout Tank Cleaning services around 50 tank trucks a day, generating effluent from a broad range of petrochemical, chemical and agri-food products with widely varying contaminant concentrations. The effluent is 10 times more concentrated than average industrial effluent and 40 times more concentrated than domestic effluent, with a chemical oxygen demand ranging from 20,000 mg/liter to 40,000 mg/liter. The company's state-of-the-art treatment plant, commissioned in 1998, is fully automated. A programmable controller selects a treatment process suited to the type of contaminant and concentration level, and the effluent stream is routed directly to a biological treatment line or to a preliminary physical/chemical treatment line.

Safe treatment of highly concentrated effluent

Herenthout Tank Cleaning has experienced rapid growth, and its conventional biological treatment capacity quickly proved inadequate to handle sudden changes in contaminant concentration. By connecting a membrane bioreactor to the existing biological treatment basin, the company will be able to accommodate variations in effluent volume and contaminant concentration without building an extension to the plant. Orelis' Pleiade(r) membrane bioreactor is designed to operate in a closed-loop configuration requiring minimal space (100 square meters). It contains the increased biomass generated by changes in effluent concentrations. Excess biomass is retained and recycled to the biological basin, thereby ensuring stable and optimal elimination of pollution.
"The membrane filtration system installed in our plant's biological treatment facility lets us manage unexpected throughput increases and treat effluent with maximum safety," says Herenthout Tank Cleaning CEO Ludo Van Dyck.

Orelis

Orelis is the world's second largest provider of clean ultrafiltration technology. It offers manufacturers technology, products and services to reduce pollution at the source and treat effluent with water and materials recycling.
Orelis is a subsidiary of Rhodia Eco Services, which generates worldwide sales of more than FRF 2.5 billion in three core areas: hazardous industrial waste treatment and soil remediation; clean processes and water and industrial effluent treatment; and sulfur-based products and sulfuric acid regeneration (Number 1 worldwide).

MTD

Belgium-based MTD is involved in industrial wastewater treatment and provides wastewater plant engineering and management services. The company has sales of 650,000 and two employees. MTD works with Orelis to develop Pleiade® membrane bioreactors in Belgium. It would like to expand their use to the treatment of wastewater with very specific characteristics.

Herenthout Tank Cleaning

Herenthout Tank Cleaning is a Belgian company that cleans tank trucks used to transport food products, chemicals and petrochemicals. It uses state-of-the-art technology, facilities and methods to ensure maximum environmental protection. The company has been operating a facility in Belgium since 1998 and expects to commission another unit near Liège at the end of the year. Herenthout Tank Cleaning has sales of 1,240 million and employs 10 people.