Optimization of biological wastewater treatment by micro-flotation at ARA Rhein
ARA Rhein treats industrial and municipal wastewater from the catchment area in Pratteln in a 2‑stage biological process. DAS Environmental Expert GmbH was responsible for building the new two-line flotation system together with the project partner Enviplan®.
With a total of 500,000 population equivalents, ARA Rhein is the largest wastewater treatment plant of its kind in Switzerland. The plant cleans approx. six billion litres of industrial and municipal wastewater in an environmentally friendly way. For clean wastewater to be discharged into the river Rhine, it must first pass through several elaborate cleaning stages. The wastewater treatment process consists of mechanical, chemical, physical and biological processing stages, as well as thermal treatment of the sewage sludge, formed during the biological cleaning process. The waste heat generated during incineration of the sewage sludge is fed as heating energy into the “Grüssen” heating network of the company, Elektra Baselland, with headquarters in Liestal (Switzerland). This results in savings of approx. one million litres of fuel oil.
Extensive wastewater analyses guarantee the consistently high quality of the wastewater to be discharged. The legally prescribed limit values are complied with at all times.
Another service offered by ARA Rhein is the cleaning of easily biodegradable wastewater and the environmentally friendly handling of sewage sludge from municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants. A new waste air concept ensures the almost complete reduction of air pollutant emissions.
Construction of a new flotation system to optimise biological wastewater treatment at ARA Rhein
The construction of the new micro-flotation system at ARA Rhein was a joint project led by DAS Environmental Expert GmbH from Dresden. In particular it involved project engineering, mechanical equipment, and instrumentation as well as commissioning and optimisation of the micro-flotation system.