Wastewater treatment for an oleochemical production plant

PT Veolia Water Technologies Indonesia has been awarded a contract to design and build a wastewater treatment system integrated into a greenfield oleochemical production plant in Indonesia.

Veolia’s client is said to be one of the largest palm oil plantation companies in the world and has integrated operations focused on the production of palm-based edible oil and fat, as well as downstream oleochemical production facilities. The company’s oleochemical production plant will be responsible for hydrogenation, as well as operational functions such as splitting, fracking and distilling of fatty acids and fatty alcohols for the production of finished palm-based products.

The wastewater plant will feature integrated wastewater solutions, such as Veolia’s dissolved air flotation (DAF) system, Biobed Advanced EGSB anaerobic and post-aerobic treatment technologies, in order to meet the country’s strict regulations for wastewater discharge.

“Indonesia’s discharge regulations for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and oil content is capped at 250 ppm and 15 ppm respectively,” said Joko Triyono, business development director, Indonesia Industrial, Veolia Water Technologies. “So we recommended our Biobed Advanced EGSB technology, together with other complementary systems, to bring our client’s expected wastewater COD and oil content of 5500 ppm and 10,000 ppm down to ranges of less than 160 ppm and 10 ppm — below the Indonesian regulation standard.”

Veolia Biobed Advanced EGSB technology has a high COD loading rate, efficient COD removal, low energy consumption and a small footprint. The high-performance anaerobic reactor also promotes stability in maintaining and producing anaerobic granular sludge for effective effluent treatment. In addition, the anaerobic treatment process converts COD in the wastewater to biogas.

“Our positive references in this field and our experience in supporting wastewater facilities were contributive factors that led to this appointment,” said Michel Otten, technical director for Biothane Technologies, Asia Industrial, Veolia Water Technologies.

“On top of providing functional benefits, our first-in-class wastewater treatment technologies also offer our clients the best combination of capital investment and operational cost.

“This is Veolia’s first project with this client and this recognition is a reflection of our capabilities in the oleochemical industry. This is a great momentum for any further partnership in developing other projects, more specifically in the field of palm oil derivatives processing plants.”