Environmentally concerned companies throughout Australia are taking up an easily portable solution to wastewater treatment at remote sites that can be built into standard shipping containers.
The modular Smith and Loveless FAST® Process from CST Wastewater Solutions – the latest example of which is currently being installed in Outback Queensland – can be easily transported, installed and operated with minimal engineering and maintenance at worksite and population centres. It is basically a plug and play system.
The patented Fixed Activated Sludge Treatment (FAST) process is available in Individual unit capacities of hundreds of cubic metres a day, which can be multiplied by the use of interconnected multiple units.
In addition to achieving higher loading rates within a smaller footprint, effluent produced can be recycled into suitable industrial, public facility and commercial processes. It can be mixed with resource site runoff water, for example, and sprayed on haul roads for dust suppression.
FAST achieves nutrient removal for applications containing high level of nitrogen, a water pollutant that has increased significantly in industrial, commercial and municipal applications and which is an environmental concern particularly to resources, engineering, construction, hospitality, marine, agribusiness and public facility and water and waste water infrastructure organizations.
The FAST process involves a fixed-film, aerobic treatment system designed for tackling variable load and flow conditions. FAST® consists of tankage packed with completely submerged media which creates a high surface area-to-volume ratio, which, combined with internal settling zones, maintains constant bacterial growth during low-flow and peak usage periods typical of many remote installations. This results in stable operation on a daily basis.
“Proven in thousands of installations worldwide, the system has been shown to be highly reliable in Australia because its stable process withstands hydraulic shock loads and prevents bacterial washouts, says CST Wastewater Solutions’ Managing Director Mr Mike Bambridge, whose company is exclusive national distributor for the FAST system.
“Simple operation and maintenance means no daily operator requirements and very little annual plant maintenance, says Mr Bambridge, whose company’s installations of the FAST system have been proven in Australian applications including: Alcoa, BHP-Billiton, Bechtel Pacific, Blair Athol Coal, Blue Circle Southern Cement, Cadia Gold, Dampier Salt and Wakefield Colliery. Further installations have been completed for the Central Coast Grammar School, CSIRO, Hunter District Water Kiama Municipal Council, Lakeside Leisure Park and Berowra Waters Marina.
Built into standard 20 or 40-foot shipping containers or concrete or fibreglass units as required, each FAST unit arrives at the job site as complete, factory-built units or as large components for easy field assembly.
FAST can also retrofit into existing aeration tankage to boost capacity and/or performance without expanding the plant.
CST Wastewater Solutions’ current major FAST project, scheduled to be completed this year, involves combination units with total capacities from 100 to more than 300 cubic metres a day.
FAST system features and benefits include:
- Modular design & construction.
• Low sludge production.
• No moving parts, except for an air blower that provides oxygen while circulating the liquid.
• Requires little maintenance, with no daily operator requirements and very little annual plant maintenance.
• Robust and reliable performance, in terms of the process. The fixed media through which the wastewater circulates provides a high surface area-to-volume ratio, protecting against hydraulic shock loads.
CST Wastewater Solutions range
The FAST system – and the complementary Smith and Loveless Titan MBR systems – are packaged aerobic wastewater plants that form part of CST Wastewater Solutions’ broad range of proprietary wastewater treatment equipment . Manufactured to ISO9001 and EEC standards of safety and design, the range includes:
Water and wastewater screening; Grit removal and dewatering; Septic receival stations; Dissolved air flotation; Sedimentation systems and clarifiers; Shaftless conveyors; Sludge dewatering; Lime handling; and silo systems; Continuous sand filters; Microfilters and screens; Solar-powered circulation; UV disinfection; Ozone treatment; Anaerobic treatment.
CST Wastewater Solutions has been providing a broad range of industrial and municipal water and wastewater solutions for 25 years. Its expertise includes designing , supplying and installing wastewater treatment plants for major applications in applications the resources, food and beverage industries .
The company is a premier supplier of innovative wastewater treatment solutions throughout Australia and New Zealand, with projects also completed in Europe, Asia, Africa and America.
CST Wastewater Solutions is a member of the Global Water and Energy Alliance, a group of select companies around the world committed to providing solutions in waste and wastewater treatment for the recovery of green energy and water.
The company also provides expert assistance with equipment and system selection, design, installation and maintenance, as well as operation of wastewater treatment systems and delivery of complete packaged plants.