Sydney Water chooses Veolia for primary separation

Veolia Water Technologies Australia has been awarded a contract for the design, supply and commissioning of 20 Hydrotech Drumfilters for mechanical primary treatment at two of Sydney Water’s treatment plants — St Mary’s Water Recycling Plant and Quakers Hill Water Recycling Plant — in NSW. The upgrade is part of Sydney Water’s Lower South Creek Treatment Program.

With a move towards energy recovery and energy efficiency in wastewater plant design around the world, the first step of primary separation has become very important for two reasons. Firstly, higher TSS removal in the primary step reduces the load on the secondary treatment process, reducing power requirements and operating costs. Secondly, increased amounts of primary sludge entering the downstream sludge treatment or biogas recovery stages, such as digestion and/or thermal hydrolysis, will increase energy recovery.

The Hydrotech Drumfilter.

The Sydney Water project continues the experience Veolia has gained over the last 10 years in utilising Hydrotech Drumfilters for primary separation. The small footprint technology enables good TSS removal (up to 80% for this project depending on influent wastewater quality) combined with the ability to cope with highly fluctuating flows in terms of both quality and capacity. The high-quality stainless steel Hydrotech Filters, combined with innovative robust PE filter panels, ensures an efficient, low-maintenance, robust and flexible primary separation step.

Top image: 20 Hydrotech Drumfilters are installed at Stavanger, Norway, for primary treatment.