Efficient Struvite Removal, Minimising Plant Downtime For Rapid Results

How ABS’ Struvite Remover transforms removal of struvite in AD and waste treatment plants

Overview

Struvite, a phosphate mineral deposit of ammonium and magnesium, poses a persistent challenge for Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plants and wastewater treatment facilities, causing pipeline blockages, operational inefficient, increased downtime, and financial strains.

Traditional methods for struvite removal involving harsh chemicals such as hydrochloric acid (HCI) and formic acid are not only dangerous but also time-consuming and in most cases, ineffecient. Chemical cleaning can take between 6 and 24 hours, while mechanical cleaning can be even less efficient, taking a few hours to achieve patchy deposit removal or days to remove more substantial buildings-ups.

This results in significant plant downtimes, leading to production losses, increased maintenance costs, and potential infrastructure corrosion which in time will require replacing.

Advanced Bacterial Sciences (ABS), a science-led biotech organisation, has developed a revolutionary solutions for this problem, ABS’ Struvite Remover, which is designed to remove struvite boil-up in less than four hours.

SUEZ: Struvite Remover in action

SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK, a leading environment services provider, chose the SBR feed system at a trial location to deal with struvite bail-up in thier AD and wastewater treatment infrastructure. In line withe its triple bottom line opportunities to improve safety through reducing manual intervention, enchancing sustainability by reducing waste and creating value by reducing plant downtime.

During its initial use, all struvite build-up in the treated pipework was completely removed within two hours, a substantial improvement of more than 66% compared to traditional methods. This not only increased productivity but also improved the efficiency of equipment and operations.

After using Struvite Remover for the first time and experiencing the benefits of the product, SUEZ purchased additional products for the rest of the pipework and equipment on site.

Various other AD plant operators across the UK have joined SUEZ in using our sustainable Struvite Remover.

The benefits

Cost-Effective

Traditional methods often involve the use of harsh chemicals like HCI and formic acid, and manual rodding and hosing methods which pose a risk to infrastructure integrity. Struvite Remover preserves infrastructure integrity and minimises plant downtime, leading to increased operational efficiency and cost-saving.

Safe to use

Struvite Remover requires less manual intervention than current methods, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries, and making it a safer option for workers.

Environmentally friendly

By allowing waste from the removal process to be reintroduced into the AD plant, Struvite Remover creates a circular process, allowing the water stream to be transformed into a feedstock rather than disposed of as hazardous waste.

Sustainable solution

Struvite Remover supports sustainability and aligns with the commitment to environmentally friendly waster and wastewater treatment practices. ABS’s Struvite Remover has been made using only compounds produced by microbial fermentation which has been classified as Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS), following years of research and development.

Find out more about the science behind ABS

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