Proceedings

Abstract

A co-operation with Power & Water has enabled Southern Water to discover that the Low P permits can be overcome by using the Iron directly from steel electrodes. The technology is based on the concept of the “sacrificial anode”. Wastewater is submitted to electrolytic reactions releasing ferric ions directly to the sewage. During a trial for CIP2 and prolonged studies following the initial success, various flows and process configurations have been tested treating the wastewater of up to 700 PE.

The performance has proven to be reliable and an average removal of 99.8% SRP and 96.9% Total P was observed. This led to concentrations averaging 0.03 mg Ortho-P/l and 0.37 mgTotal P/l. The Iron was maintained below 4 mg/l (average 3.13 mg Total Fe/l) and site compliance was not jeopardised. Power consumption was reliably calculated at around 263 kWh per kg of Total P removed. Operating the process has highlighted its simplicity and some specific challenges could be solved, opening the doors to more innovative aspects that are currently worked on to make the process even more efficient.