A Covered High-Rate Anaerobic Lagoon (COHRAL) system from Global Water & Energy (GWE) installed at NH Foods Australia is providing cleaner wastewater effluent and a reduced carbon footprint.
This was the analysis of Australian environmental engineering and green energy authority CST Wastewater Solutions, which recently inspected the plant as the COHRAL system approaches its fifth year of service.
Waste at the plant is converted to biogas by a clean, green anaerobic digestion process which could be applicable to many food, beverage or primary processing plants with similar waste streams high in organic content.
The plant simultaneously delivers high quality treated wastewater by biologically removing organic content, which it converts into methane to replace fossil fuels, as a secondary benefit. The GWE technology involved removes 80-90% of the organic content, minimising the need for final polishing, while also reducing odours.
The biogas is stored for use in a 6000m3 capacity, flexible, PVC-coated polyester storage balloon. The generated biogas is drawn from the balloon and is used to fuel the plant’s boiler.