Facilities Management Middle East
LANXESS commissions wastewater treatment plant
LANXESS thoroughly modernised and expanded the existing water treatment plant to comply with the stricter environmental legislation
LANXESS has commissioned a new wastewater treatment plant at its Belgium Kallo/ Antwerp site. The special chemicals company invested around EUR12m in the plant, which has a treatment capacity of around 260,000 litres of wastewater per hour.
LANXESS thoroughly modernised and expanded the existing water treatment plant to comply with the stricter environmental legislation. It was a challenging job because the plant had to remain operational throughout the renovation. The wastewater treatment plant not only processes the wastewater from the LANXESS plants on the site, for the production rubber chemicals and glass fiber, but also that from two neighboring companies.
“The renewal and improvement of the wastewater treatment plant enables us to meet the highest environmental standards. We take responsibility for our local sites and this includes investing in sustainable and innovative processes that protect the environment,” said Anno Borkowsky, board member of LANXESS, in his welcome speech.
The installation is home to bacteria that process and purify the wastewater. The different wastewater streams are mixed and end up in aeration towers. The water is fed with activated sludge, in which the bacteria reside. The environment of the biological wastewater treatment plant is constantly monitored, for example to ensure balanced acidity and the right temperature.
The bacteria are finally separated and returned to the purification process, the purified water is fed into the Scheldt.
The plant operates day and night. An independent laboratory analyses water samples daily for quality control.
The project is part of an investment program in the mid double-digit million euro range with which LANXESS has significantly improved environmental standards at its sites in the port of Antwerp in recent years. At the Lillo site, LANXESS commissioned a plant to reduce nitrous oxide emissions in 2021. This will reduce the emission of CO2 equivalents by 150,000 tonnes annually.