Bench-Scale & Pilot Treatability Testing

Whenever possible, the best approach to the design of a water or waste treatment system for an industrial or municipal facility is to conduct treatability studies on actual samples. This is necessary in order to select the most suitable and economical treatment process, to define the optimum process design variables, and to confirm over a sufficiently long operating period that the performance of the system will meet the specified effluent criteria. To this end, Pollutech has developed a number of unique bench scale process simulators for treatability studies, which have been utilized throughout North America, Latin America and Southeast Asia. These facilities can be transported by land or air to the site or we will help you arrange to ship samples to Canada. These include both biological and physical/chemical treatability units. Some are suitable for bench scale laboratory studies while others are readily adaptable to on-site pilot studies.

Treatment processes simulated for both water and waste water include:

Biological waste treatment systems (aerobic, anaerobic, continuous or batch);
Aerobic and anaerobic sludge digestion or bioconversion;
Chemical coagulation, flocculation, oxidation and reduction;
Ion exchange and activated carbon adsorption;
Micro screening, sedimentation, flotation;
Vacuum and pressure filtration;
Ozonation, chlorination, UV irradiation, etc.

A bench scale test program and facility can be developed to suit a client's specific needs. Firstly Pollutech identifies the need, then demonstrates the results.

Typical examples of Pollutechs Bench-Scale Projects includce, but are not limited to, the following:

Simulation of chemical production facilities and proposed waste treatment facilities for a Canadian/Asian joint venture project in China, which has now been constructed and is in operation;
Biological nitrification with variation in operating temperatures using Pollutech's walk-in cold room facility to evaluate summer and winter operating conditions;
Separation of waste oil and cleaning compounds to study ultrafiltration with various synthetic membranes for oily wastes in the automotive, refinery, power and electronics industries;
Anaerobic digestion and methane gas recovery from a wide variety of municipal and industrial wastes;
Bench scale testing in Hong Kong and Canada for the identification and development of treatment scenarios for a textile plant to be relocated to Canada that must meet stringent toxicity limits, now operational in New Brunswick;
Chemical treatment of water for removal of particulate, colour and dissolved metals using a wide range of primary and secondary coagulants;
Biological treatment of industrial and municipal landfill leachate leading to the selection of the preferred alternative for treatment;
Two stage biological treatment of complex starch wastes to evaluate a wide range of process alternatives, ultimately leading to the construction of a $5 million integrated product recovery and waste treatment facility;
Acid cracking and coagulation of laundry wastes for the evaluation of an integrated treatment facility;
Bench scale testing of product recovery and waste treatment alternatives for distillery and brewery waste products for a Central American beverage conglomerate.

Where the results of bench scale testing have indicated that a specific treatment process, or a select group of treatment processes, can offer effective treatment, a pilot plant project may be warranted.

Pilot Plants Can:

provide detailed process design data for civil/mechanical works;
detail effluent quality and repeatability for regulatory officials;
compare treatment efficiencies between similar, but competing technologies;
produce recovered products that can be evaluated in the industrial process; and
provide costing information on equipment, chemicals and recovered products.

Pollutech maintains a wide selection of process tanks and mixers for general pilot plant programs. For specific projects, we arrange for the delivery, installation, start-up and testing of manufacturers' pilot units. For many applications, the pilot plant is a segment of an existing treatment process which Pollutech has modified. Alternatively, the complete system may be operated under the test mode conditions. Pollutech staff have completed pilot studies across Canada, throughout Latin America and as far away as Turkey, Vietnam and Hong Kong.

Pollutech will arrange for all equipment and services and negotiate any regulatory approvals required. The client's staff is involved in the review of the pilot test to provide operator familiarity and management approval. This participation leads to a better understanding of both the need for and results of the pilot plant test program.

Typical examples of Pollutechs Pilot Plant Projects includce, but are not limited to, the following:

Numerous biological waste treatment studies at major Regional water pollution control plants;
A multi-year 25 MIGD pilot nitrification study at an existing municipal plant achieved through isolation of specific plant components;
Effluent filtration for tertiary treatment evaluating the effect of influent solids and filter media;
Sludge dewatering options, with and without polymer, for raw and waste activated municipal sludges;
Fixed film biological contactors for treatment of food processing wastes with side-by-side comparison to conventional suspended growth systems;
Ultrafiltration for separation of waste oil/cleaner solutions in the metal stamping industry;
Micro-screening devices for separation of cloth fibres in the garment industry;
Application of low, medium and high pressure ultra violet disinfection systems for stormwater disinfection, leading to the design and construction of Canada’s first major UV stormwater disinfection facility;
Pilot scale evaluation of membrane separation processes for recovery of caustic wash water from Central American bottling operations;
- On-site pilot scale evaluation of anaerobic treatment facilities for methane production at a rum distillery in Nicaragua;
- Evaluation of biological treatment alternatives for petrochemical plant waste streams at an integrated production plant;
- Pilot scale evaluation of alternatives to conventional secondary settling practices at a major starch manufacturing facility, resulting in the selection of a DAF system, now in full-scale operation;
- Pilot scale evaluation of a filter press to dewater biological solids with and without the addition of recovered starch solids.