Package Sewage Treatment System Case Study
Temporary Sewage Treatment Plant for Australian Mining Camp using the BMS Blivet Case Study
Project Overview:
This case study focuses on how the BMS Blivet Package Sewage Treatment System provided the ideal solution for treating the sewage generated by the resident workers at a mining camp in Western Australia.
Many mining projects are located long distances from population centres, which means that they have to set up their own full serviced villages so miners can work, eat, sleep, shower and relax when resident at the mine. Long travel distances from most mines and other similar facilities like oil/gas camps mean that workers are often resident for a number of weeks at a time and like any population centre they generate sewage from toilet flushing, washing, showers, cooking, cleaning and other day to day to activities. Most mining/work camps operate to high environmental standards e.g. ISO45001 and therefore there is a need to treat the sewage on site to a high standard before discharge to protect the environment. Indeed, there is an opportunity to reuse the treated effluent on site to reduce potable water use. Potable water often has to be tankered to these sites, so is at a premium. Fully treated and disinfected effluent can be safely reused for non-potable activities such as toilet flushing, wheel washing, dust suppression, process water and irrigation.
This case study focus’ on the design, manufacture and supply of a BMS BL2000 Blivet ‘all in one’ Package Sewage Treatment System to a mine in Western Australia in conjunction with our partners in the region Nova Process.
Key considerations for a sewage treatment plant at a mine or oil/gas camp are that the plant is a completely self-contained ‘all in one’ package that is very compact, modular and portable. Ease of transport is also key, so the sewage treatment plant has to be able to ship in a container, to allow easy transport by sea to a country like Australia and then can be transported via a curtain side/flat bed truck when fully assembled and can then be easily loaded/offloaded to the mining site. As all sewage treatment plants at mining/oil/gas camps are temporary (months-years), a system that can be installed above/below ground installation without a concrete surround is a must, so that it can be easily moved or relocated when required. The final key consideration at a work camp is quality and reliability. Due to the remote locations involved, the sewage treatment plant should be high quality, robust with the lowest possible maintenance and power requirements with the option to easily add disinfection.
A package sewage treatment system that can accomplish all of the above and more is the BMS Blivet ‘all in one’ Package Sewage Treatment system.
Project Details:
COMPLETION DATE
2025
CLIENT:
BRIEF:
To design, manufacture, install and commission a robust turnkey, compact & low maintenance BMS Blivet Package Sewage Treatment Plant to treat the sewage generated by Mine Work Camp located in remote Western Australia.
VALUE
Undisclosed.
Introduction
Our Australian Sewage Treatment Partners, Nova Process, were contacted by a large Gold Mine in Western Australia who were looking for a high quality, robust and low maintenance sewage treatment solution to treat the sewage generated by their resident miners to a high standard before discharge.
Their customers put a huge emphasis on quality, track record and a system that required very little maintenance, spare parts and power due to the remoteness of the site. Easy problem solving and replacement of parts if required was also an important prerequisite.
Most mining/oil/gas work camps are located well away from populations centres making daily commuting impossible. Therefore the camp owners have to put in place, what are in essence fully functional villages, where their workers can eat, sleep and relax in comfort, when they are at the camps, such as accommodation, toilets, showers/wash rooms, canteens, leisure areas. The activities are very similar to any housing development. Most companies in the Mining/Oil/Gas industry aim to achieve high environmental standards e.g. ISO45001 and therefore have to treat the sewage generated by their workers to a high standard before discharging it. Indeed, as potable water is often at a premium at these sites (it often has to be tankered in or produced on site), there is an increasing focus on the reuse of treated sewage, where it can be safely reused after disinfection for activities such as dust suppression, wheel washing, process water, toilet flushing and irrigation.
The sewage treatment plant, although important, does not do in any mining and therefore based on our 40 years of worldwide experience supplying sewage treatment plants to mining/oil/gas camps a very specific type of package sewage treatment system is required:
A completely self-contained ‘all in one’ ‘plug&play’ system that does not require extra settlement/aeration tanks to work and that can be easily installed/commissioned with minimal civil works.
A very compact system, as the area available for temporary plants is always at a premium, so the more compact a system is, the better.
A system that can be installed without a concrete surround so that it can be easily decommissioned and removed with the ability to be redeployed to another site
A system that can achieve a high standard of final effluent including low BOD, SS, COD, NH4, N and P.
The flexibility that the system can be installed in phases as the number or workers at the site increase.
A system that is high quality, robust and requires minimal maintenance, power and spare parts.
A system that allows easy problem solving/repairs on site.
A system that can be installed above, below or partially below ground.
A system that can fit fully assembled in a standard truck or that can be shipped by container for export overseas.
A system that was installed successfully for similar temporary projects.
A proven system manufactured to an approved quality system such as ISO 9001, which has a long track record in Ireland and worldwide.
The above tough set of requirements have been achieved on a repeated basis by the BMS Blivet ‘all in one’ Package Sewage Treatment System.
BMS BL4000 Blivet 3D Drawing (the biggest Blivet unit that fits in a 40 container but can treat up to 500 PE
BMS BL2000 Blivet ready for shipping to Western Australia
Sewage Treatment Plant Design & Design Calculations
1 Population Equivalent (PE) = 60 g of BOD/person/day, 60 g of SS/person/day, 120 g of COD/person/day & 150 l of flow/person/day
.
Calculations
90 Full Time Camp Residents or Population Equivalents (PE)
90 PE x 60 g (1 PE) = 5400 g
5400 g ÷ 17,000 l (Daily Flow) = 317 mg/l
90 Full Time Camp Residents or Population Equivalents (PE)
90 PE x 60 g (1 PE) = 5400 g
5400 g ÷ 17,000 l (Daily Flow) = 317 mg/l
90 Full Time Camp Residents or Population Equivalents (PE)
90 PE x 120 g (1 PE) = 10800 g
10800 g ÷ 17,000 l (Daily Flow) = 634 mg/l
90 Full Time Camp Residents or Population Equivalents (PE)
90 PE x 8 g (1 PE) = 720 g
720 g ÷ 17,000 l (Daily Flow) = 42 mg/l
Aim for 50% reduction
42 mg/l x 50% = 21 mg/l of reduction required.
21 mg/l x 17,000 l/day = 357 g
357 g x 4* = 1428 g ÷ 60 g (1 PE BOD) = 24 PE
* It takes 3x the oxidative capacity in a warm climate and 4x the oxidative capacity in a temperate climate to remove 1 g of NH4/N in comparison to 1 g of BOD.
For denitrification to take place the nitrified (Ammonia converted to Nitrate) effluent from the end of treatment process needs to be recycled back to the start of the process, where on mixing with a carbon source (fresh sewage), in an anoxic zone (up front balance/denitrification tank), then anoxic denitrification will take place, where NO3 (Nitrate) is converted to Nitrogen and Oxygen gas and given off into the atmosphere thus reducing Total Nitrogen (TN) to less than 21 mg/l. The BMS Blivet Package Sewage Treatment System is the only system that generates net hydraulic lift from inlet to outlet. The Blivet takes advantage of this by allowing adjustable recirculation at the end of the Aerotor (biological stage) back to the start of treatment, in this case an upfront balance/denitrification tank. This recirculation function can also be used when flow is low to maintain growth or also to perform extra treatment e.g. denitrification. If the nitrified effluent from the end of the Blivet is recycled back to the Balance/Denitrification Tank at a rate of approx. 50% and has 8 hours+ contact time in the tank, along with a submerged mixer or release Nitrogen and Oxygen Gas, then anoxic denitrification will take place.
90 Full Time Camp Residents or Population Equivalents (PE)
90 PE x 2.8 g (1 PE) = 252 g
252 g ÷ 17,000 l (Daily Flow) = 14 mg/l
To reduce Phosphorus to less than 9 mg/l dosing with Aluminium Ferric/Aluminium Sulphate or Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) will be required. The client should also use low Phosphorus cleaners in any dishwashers/laundry on site.
Dosing with Aluminium/Ferric Sulphate is biocidal and increases sludge bulk, therefore an additional 25% allowance needs to be allowed for, to take this into account. Dosing with PAC is not generally biocidal but sludge bulking to a 10% allowance needs to be made.
Final Population Equivalent Calculation
90 PE (BOD) + 24 PE (NH4) x 110% (P) = 125 PE
Finally include a 25% safety factor for flow variation and further growth
125 PE x 125% = 156 PE
BMS Blivet Selection:
1 No. BMS BL2000 Blivet ’all in one’ Package Sewage Treatment System.
| Inlet Parameters | Unit | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Flow (Sewage) | l/d | 17,000 (max) |
| Hourly Flow (Sewage) | l/h | 667 |
| Peak Hourly Flow (Sewage) | l/h | 1,200 (MAX) |
| Peak Flow (Sewage) | l/s | 0.33 (MAX) |
| BOD | g/d | 17,000 l x 317 mg/l = 5400 g |
| PE | 5400 g / 60 g = 90 PE | |
| COD | g/d | 17,000 l x 634 mg/l = 10778 g |
| PE | 10778 g / 120 g = 90 PE | |
| SS | g/d | 17,000 l x 317 mg/l = 720 g |
| PE | 5400 g / 60 g = 90 PE | |
| NH4/N | g/d | 17,000 l x 42 mg/l = 720 g |
| P | g/d | 17,000 l x 14 mg/l = 238 g |
| Outlet Parameters | Unit | Values |
|---|---|---|
| BOD | mg/l | 20 |
| SS | mg/l | 30 |
| NH4/N | mg/l | 36 |
| P | mg/l | 9 |
BMS BL2000 BLIVET WWTP being loaded in a container for shipping to Australia
Design/Layout/Value Engineering
The BMS Blivet is most compact ‘all in one system’ available combining primary settlement, final settlement, Aerobic Treatment & 3+ months sludge storage all housed in one steel reinforced GRP/Fibreglass tank with lockable lids. This met the clients main requirements:
- It was delivered to Australia in a standard 40 foot container. It was quickly assembled by Nova Process and transported to the mine in Western Australia. - It neatly fits in a corner of the site and runs extremely quietly with lockable lids to minimise any odour issues.
- A low maintenance solution was required so that it could easily be maintained at this very remote Western Australian mining site with assistance from Nova Process. ·
In this case Nova Process supplied an upfront Balance/Denitrification Tank and a Clean Water Tank to store the treated and disinfected effluent, which is suitable for reuse or disposal.
A quick installation was achieved on the site; the Blivet was lifted fully ‘ready to go’ from a trailer by crane, lowered into place on a prepared concrete slab. The inlet/outlet pipes were connected and the power plugged in. The Blivet’s were then up and running without the need for seeding.
The BMS Blivet can be installed fully free standing, partially buried or buried to lid level. Indeed, it can even be installed fully underground. In this case, the client chose to install above ground for the quickest possible installation and to allow for easy removal at the end of project.
Civil works for a BMS Blivet are extremely easy and consist only of 1 No. 20N reinforced concrete slab 3.0 m (w) x 0.15 m (d) x length of the unit (max 7.8 m (l) for the BL2000), the placing of the Blivet on the slab and then connecting the power to the integral panel and connecting the inlet/outlet pipes.
BMS BL2000 Blivet Package Sewage Treatment Plant installled at mine in Western Australia
Construction/Installation Details
BMS designed, manufactured and supplied 1 No. BL2000 Blivet Package Sewage Treatment Plant to our Australian partner, Nova Process, who carried out the installation and commissioning.
BMS Blivet’s are manufactured in our Irish factory to ISO 9001 Quality verified by IQNET. We have been manufacturing Blivet’s since the early 90s and have exported them to 60+ countries. We therefore have a skilled, experienced and knowledgeable workforce. The quality of the Blivet is shown that even though it has one of lowest maintenance requirements available many of the original units are still in operation 30+ years later. BMS place a huge emphasise on producing quality sewage treatment plants that are built to last and have leading lifetime costs. Discerning customers will quickly realise that cheap upfront costs are normally accompanied by high O&M costs and poor process reliability, meaning that any difference in upfront cost is quickly eaten up and the ongoing costs make the system a huge drain on resources, leading to a high lifetime cost. As pointed out above, well maintained systems should last more than 30 years!
The BMS Blivet is designed so it can be supplied, installed and maintained by any competent contractor. The civil works are extremely easy for a BMS Blivet, install a slab 3.0 m widex 0.15 m deep x the length of the Blivet, excavate if being placing below/partially below ground, connect the inlet/outlet pipe and finally connect power to the integral control panel, simple as that. The Blivet can then accept sewage for treatment. In phased projects many contractors will often do all the civil works up front, which makes phased installation very easy later.
In this project to allow for easy installation and removal of the Blivet’s they were installed fully above ground. Unlike most other systems the Blivet does not require any extra supports to free stand. Indeed, some unique features of the Blivet particularly lent itself to this temporary project.
As already alluded to it is a complete ‘plug&play’ steel reinforced ‘all in one’ solution, that contains everything required for sewage treatment; primary settlement, final settlement, aerobic treatment via the BMS Aerotor Next Generation RBC, and 3+ months sludge storage. The BL2000 Blivet used in this project is extremely compact, only max 7.5 m in length by 2.3 m wide by 2.25 height to deck level, this means space/excavation is minimised as much as possible. Furthermore, the Blivet does not require a concrete surround when free standing or buried. It can be backfilled with selected excavated material when buried. This not only means placing of the Blivet is very easy but also is extremely important for a temporary plant, as a concrete surround would make for a very difficult and costly excavation to remove a sewage treatment plant. However, the Blivet can be easily removed due to not requiring a concrete surround.
BMS Blivet Technology
The BMS Blivet is the most compact ‘all in one’ package sewage treatment plant available worldwide. It has been installed in 60+ countries all around the world in every possible climate extreme over 35+ years. The BMS Blivet was developed, designed and patented by BMS, Ireland. The Blivet offers simplicity in an age of complication, while able to achieve virtually any standard of effluent including low BOD, SS, NH4, TN & P. It is also extremely robust and built to last in an ISO 9001 certified factory in Ireland. You can see how the Blivet works at the following link: https://youtu.be/i0paRj7pew4
Maintenance is simple; ½-1 man hour per week, see how to do it on our detailed maintenance video
Overall, the Blivet is chosen by discerning customers who want a product that is easy to operate, built to last and who understand the upfront cost is only a small element in the overall cost of running a sewage treatment plant for 30+ years.
BMS Operation/Maintenance Details:
The Blivet is completely maintained by the Mining Camp Personnel with support from Nova Process. The Blivet is designed to be able to be installed or maintained by any competent caretaker/fitter. However, BMS are always available to provide advice and technical back up. Our helpful maintenance video, shows all maintenance tasks for the Blivet and is available in English and French. The standard of effluent being produced to date has been very good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTKFzss8lGo&t=204s
Project Learnings
Even though BMS have treating sewage around the world for 40 years and have accumulated a vast reserve of knowledge and experience over this time, every project is treated as unique and has its own learnings/challenges.
1. In this project, higher than expected Ammonia/Nitrogen Levels were found at the inlet. After investigation this was traced back to the food scraps going down garbage grinders in kitchen sinks, which led to the majority of food and vegetable waste being disposed of in the sewage. Although this can be catered for, it always important to check with clients if this is occurring garbage grinders are being used, as they can significantly push up inlet BOD/N concentrations and need to be included in initial design calculations. However, it can be easily solved by stopping the grinding of food waste by installing scrap traps and its disposal by other safe means like composting.
2. As shown in the calculations it takes 3x the oxidative capacity in a warm climate and 4x the oxidative capacity in a temperate climate to remove 1 g of NH4/N in comparison to 1 g of BOD. In rural Western Australia it would generally be assumed to be a warm climate. However, the temperature can drop significantly at night during Winter at the site, meaning using 4x the oxidative capacity is more appropriate for this project. The moral of the story being, always check with a client to confirm minimum and maximum temperatures at site.
3. As with all sites, it is very important to reinforce that properly sized and maintained grease traps must be installed on all kitchen wastewater treatment lines to prevent the Fats, Oil and Grease (FOG) Levels from reaching more than 20 mg/l. Above this, regardless of the technology, it will start to negatively prevent oxygenation of the biofilm resulting in progressively deteriorating treatment levels and often increased smell as FOG levels increase.
4. A good way to reduce Phosphorus levels is to switch on site laundry/dishing washing detergents to low Phosphorus versions, which are easily available and are not significantly more expensive.
Other Temporary Sewage Treatment Projects
BMS have manufactured and supplied BMS Blivet’s to 50+ countries worldwide. BMS have vast experience of providing temporary sewage treatment solutions, some reference projects are:
Henley Brook Retirement Village, Perth, Australia (read case study: https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/nova-process-rental-wastewater-treatment-systems-cut-developer-costs)
Camp Sites, France (read case study: https://butlerms.com/case-studies/tourist-accomodation-temporary-sewage-treatment-plant-france)
All US Army bases in Iraq exclusively used the BMS Blivet for temporary sewage treatment.
The Bechtel ‘In Sallah’ Gas Pipeline project exclusively used the BMS Blivet to treat the sewage generated at all work camps in Algeria.
Medicines San Frontiers (MSF) Emergency Camps in Africa.
The BMS Blivet treated up to 5000 PE in Lusk, Co. Dublin, Ireland before the Portrane Municipal Plant was commissioned.
Housing Projects throughout Ireland including: Arklow, Kingscourt, Edenderry, Midelton, Cork and many more.
The BMS Blivet UV is being used at 30+ sites in Ireland, UK and Europe to treat the sewage generated by workers on site to a full disinfected standard suitable for reuse on site. It offers a compelling payback compared to tankering away untreated sewage. Sites include Centre Parcs Ireland, Dublin Airport, Avondale House, N5 Upgrade, Oweninny Wind Farm, Torness, Scotland, Ballymena, Northern Ireland, Cambridge, England and many more.
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