SUEZ’s technology selected for wastewater treatment plant in Canada

The Region of Waterloo in Canada has selected ZeeLung technology from SUEZ to equip the Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR) system at the Hespeler Wastewater Treatment Plant in Ontario.

Once equipped, the technology will help the regional government deliver better water quality while improving nutrient removal, reducing energy and maximising the treatment capacity and performance from existing assets.

The new contract follows a pilot of ZeeLung technology for eight months and refined the design for full-scale implementation.

The upgrade is scheduled to be commissioned in the next year.

SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions engineered systems executive vice-president Kevin Cassidy said: “This is a first-of-its-kind project for Canada that will demonstrate ZeeLung’s benefits: the ability to quickly and easily upgrade existing wastewater treatment plants on a cost-effective basis, with little disruption to on-going operations.

“The technology allows customers to increase the treatment capacity of their plants, for a better water quality in a compact footprint while also reducing energy consumption.”

ZeeLung technology will upgrade conventional activated sludge plants for nutrient removal and capacity expansion.

It uses a gas permeable media to deliver oxygen to a biofilm attached to the media surface.

Molecular diffusion delivers oxygen without bubbles, significantly reducing the energy footprint required for the transfer.

During a conventional wastewater treatment, 60% of the energy is consumed by blowers delivering bubbles to provide the oxygen necessary for the biological process.

The Region of Waterloo in Ontario serves a population of more than 600,000 people with its 13 wastewater treatment plants, processing 180 million litres of wastewater per day.