Natural England Visit to see NUTREM® at Plantwork Systems Trial Plant
Robert White
Natural England is here to conserve and enhance the natural environment and has issued advice highlighting the need to carefully consider the nutrient effect of any new projects impacting the environment.
On 19th June 2024, a delegation from Natural England accompanied city council senior planning representatives to PWS’s NUTREM® demonstration plant which is located at Southern Water wastewater works in Petersfield, Hampshire. The visit objective was to understand more about NUTREM® and how the process can solve nutrient neutrality issues effecting housing developments and wastewater facilities in the UK.
A technical presentation was followed by questions and a walk around the PWS NUTREM® plant. All agreed that the installation of NUTREM® was an acceptable solution to achieving nutrient neutrality for developments, the delegation was also interested in the potential for recycling water and the sludge.
The NUTREM® demonstration plant has been operating at Petersfield wastewater treatment works since September 2014. It is a complete Biological Nutrient Removal system incorporating all primary and secondary treatment, and does not use chemical addition at any stage of the process.
Since September 2014, NUTREM® has consistently achieved a Total Phosphorus removal to levels under 0.3 mg/l.
NUTREM®Plant at Petersfield, Hampshire, UK
NUTREM® is a sewage treatment plant designed specifically for each development or water company. Key advantages over alternative solutions are:
Industry-leading level of Total Phosphorus (TP) removal (below 0.3 mg/l)
Industry-leading level of Total Nitrogen (TN) removal (below 5 mg/l)
No dosing requirements
Effective in all seasons (i.e. including weak sewage strengths)
Lower capital expenditure
Lower operating costs
Smaller footprint, with resulting cost saving
Modular and scalable, allowing costs to be spread
High quality effluent capable of re-use without tertiary treatment
Virtually odour-free operation
No corrosive by-products
Natural England representatives visit PWS NUTREM plant at Petersfield in Hampshire
Chemical Investigation Programme (CIP2) Trials
The superb P and N removal results being achieved by PWS’s unique NUTREM® process have gained considerable recognition within the industry, putting NUTREM® into the second phase of the national Chemical Investigation Programme (CIP2) targeting substances of potential concern in wastewater.
Results of the trials consistently demonstrated the system removing TP down to levels under 0.3mg/l, achieving a removal rate in excess of 95%. Removal rates for all the other contaminants were also extremely high.
The CIP2 trial has proved that the NUTREM® process:
- Maintains performance when treating diurnal flows and even during during prolonged overloaded conditions.
- Is ideally positioned to meet future challenge of TP levels below 0.1mg/l, as well as Phosphorus recovery.
This puts NUTREM® in a unique position to meet growing industry demand and increasing sustainability pressures.
Contact us now to discuss how we can help you
Call: 01420 590400
Email: info@plantworksystems.com
Visit: www.plantworksystems.com
Article by Robert White, Plantwork Systems Managing Director