Mobile Solution Eliminates Costly Downtime

The Challenge

The production facility includes a waste treatment system with primary, activated sludge, secondary and tertiary treatment steps to ensure compliance with the discharge requirements in their NPDES permit. 

The site had scheduled maintenance work to be carried out on one of their two secondary clarifiers, but could not afford to throttle production which would occur if a shutdown were needed.

Having researched available options to support their project, Kraton looked at a number of different portable lamella clarifiers from several different suppliers. During their due diligence, they concluded that these technologies were not sufficient for their secondary clarification application that operates with feeds of 3,000 – 5,000 mg/l mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) and generates 10 times more sludge volume than most clarification applications. 

The Solution

Kraton contacted Veolia Water Technologies to obtain a thorough understanding of their capabilities. By asking key questions related to the facility's process needs, project schedule and performance requirements, Veolia recommended the implementation of a mobile water solution that included their Actiflo TURBO technology. The Actiflo TURBO technology is a high rate ballasted mobile clarifier that provided coagulation, flocculation and rapid settling, plus it fit within the limited footprint available at the site.

Process Description 

The Actiflo TURBO technology utilizes ballasted micro-sand media to increase floc formation and settling while operating at a very high flow rate. The ballasted media is efficiently separated and recycled within the Actiflo unit through the combined use of rubber-lined centrifugal pumps and hydrocyclones. Enhanced floc formation and accelerated settling have enabled the Actiflo process to succeed in over 1000 worldwide water clarification and wastewater applications in typical flows of 1-2 million gallons per day (GPD) for low solids applications, and 0.5-1 MGD in higher solids applications such as this. 

The Results

With the Actiflo TURBO unit operational, Kraton was able to perform the needed maintenance on their clarifier without having to step down their production process. They were so pleased with the performance of the unit that they have decided to extend the use of the Actiflo unit while performing preventative maintenance on their other clarifier prior to demobilization of the unit. 

Kraton’s Senior Engineer, Keith Fowler, was so pleased with the Actiflo that he would recommend the ballasted clarification technology for permanent use following any activated sludge system. 

Actiflo Performance

• Influent MLSS: 3000 – 5000 mg/l TSS 
• Actiflo rise rate 20-40 times higher than existing unit 
• Effluent Quality:  
  • < 5 NTU Turbidity 
  • <30 mg/l TSS