WATER & WASTE TREATMENT


RO SYSTEM ACCELERATES ROI


A new boiler feedwater system from Veolia is helping save energy at a meat-free alternatives manufacturer


consumption. By identifying potential improvements to its boiler system and proposing a new reverse osmosis plant for the feedwater, Veolia has been able to reduce the need for wasteful and energy- intensive boiler blowdown, slashing energy costs. The customer


V


produces and packages a range of meat substitute products at its UK headquarters. Committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2030, the customer sought to reduce energy consumption in their


eolia has successfully helped a major UK meat alternatives manufacturer reduce their energy


manufacturing process while lowering overall operating costs.


Having learnt about Veolia’s financial and water-saving solutions as part of an outreach campaign, the team from Veolia was invited to the customer’s facility. There, they identified significant cost savings that could be achieved by implementing a solution that targeted the


boiler system. They found that the


feedwater for the facility’s boilers contained a high level of total dissolved solids (TDS) which meant regular


blowdown was necessary to purge the system of impurities. The blowdowns wasted valuable


FOG MACERATOR IS THE STAR OF THE SHOW


effluent in a grease trap at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the south of England. The Borger OrbitGrinder, which is


A


designed with pivoted cutting blades that adjust automatically, is operating at an even cutting speed, with a star- shape knife holder & circular cutting basket formation to maximise the shredding of fats, oils and greases (FOG). After the FOG first passes through the OrbitGrinder, where it is shredded and homogenised,


the energy-rich liquid is then transferred to the facility’s AD/biogas plant. Easily integrated into almost any existing system, the OrbitGrinder is achieving consistently


good, even cutting quality. The design of the baffle plate also ensures that the suction force of the pump is evenly distributed. Despite the confined space at the WWTP, the flexible installation options offered with the


OrbitGrinder meant that the piping system at the plant did not have to be adjusted. While macerators with round perforated disks typically see excessive wear of the cutting


plates’ outer edge, the OrbitGrinder’s design and durability provides a significantly prolonged service life. Consistent with all proven Borger equipment, the Maintenance-In-Place design (with a gas


strut assisted quick-release cover) makes servicing much easier than laborious alternatives. www.boerger.com


3 SEPTEMBER 2025 | PROCESS & CONTROL 0


new cutting basket macerator from Borger is successfully homogenising a challenging


energy – and money – so the team focused on this process as a key area for optimisation. Veolia’s solution was to replace the facility’s


existing water softeners with a SIRION Advanced RO unit plus pre-treatment. The solution would consistently and reliably deliver the 4m3


with a conductivity of <20 µS/cm. This far exceeds the British Standard requirement of softened water and so significantly increases the boiler’s cycles of concentration. Capable of removing up to 98% of dissolved


inorganics and over 99% of large dissolved organics, the SIRION Advanced forms the core of the new installation. It utilises RO technology and low-energy membranes to deliver highly efficient feedwater treatment that operates at a low pressure, reducing operational expenditure. As a skid-mounted plug-and-play solution, the SIRION Advanced can be installed quickly and easily, reducing system downtime. In this installation, Veolia’s IonSoft Duplex Water Softener acts as pretreatment to the RO, along with carbon cylinders completing the process and ensuring that the conductivity levels of the feedwater are low enough to avoid excessive impurity build-up within the boiler. The new water treatment system was


implemented swiftly by the team, and the cost savings generated enabled an ROI in just 18 months. Ben Moore, Business Development Manager


at Veolia, said: “Our team was very pleased in reducing the customer’s energy consumption and providing such a strong ROI. Our solution took a different approach to energy saving, utilising the power of our SIRION Advanced RO unit to tackle energy wastage in an often- overlooked area. We look forward to seeing what other benefits the technology brings to the customer as the system continues to run, and we will work closely with the customer to ensure it continues to deliver throughout its service life.”


Veolia www.veoliawatertechnologies.co.uk


/h of feedwater required for the system


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44