UK-based Next Filtration has been trialling its FOG STOP technology at a wastewater treatment plant in Brazil and tests have shown that is has improved overall effluent water quality by reducing residual effluent biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) by more than 50%.
The 40-day trial of FOG Stop, which alters the core metabolism of indigenous bacteria, also saw an increase in dissolved oxygen (DO) levels of 45.5%, which could allow the facility to operate under increased flow, and/or organic loading of up to 25% or more. There was also an improvement in the rate of ammoniacal nitrogen removal from 31.9% removal to 57.7%.
The test was undertaken by Sabesp, the water and waste management company owned by São Paulo state, and it found that volatile suspended solids were reduced from 20% to just 13.3%, while sludge production dropped from 11,089 mg/L to 7,546 mg/L, for an overall reduction of 31.95%.
In the UK, Next Filtration recently secured a contract with Severn Trent to deploy its Next FOG Stop technology to cut down the build-up of fats, oils and grease (FOG) in sewers. This followed an 18-month trial period, during which Next FOG Stop significantly helped cut maintenance costs and flooding caused by blockages in sewers.
