Wastewater Treatment with Ecoparadigm DTS Technology

What is a DTS?

A DTS is a combination of continuous flow reactor modules assembled to achieve the required effluent quality for the reuse application. Different options of additional modules can be added for further polishing of the water in accordance with the targeted effluent quality.

The Patent Pending DTS technology offers a state-of-the-art solution for adequate on-site wastewater treatment taking maximum advantages of natural processes to achieve a preferably reliable and eco-friendly system.

  • DTS technology works mostly independent from power supply and daily surveillance, An on-site solution
  • The treated water can be reused locally for different purpose like irrigation, flushing of toilets, cooling and heating, washing, and groundwater recharge.
  • Minimize the total water consumption and its appending costs for supply, piping and pumping up into overhead tanks
  • Allows green areas on the premises.
    DTS technology can treat the wastewater generated from following sources → Residential apartments, villas, individual houses, food processing industries, salutary plants, hospitals, schools, lakes etc. complying with the national discharge standards.

DTS is a tailored solution developed based on the specific site conditions and the requirements of the client, to offer the best economic and ecological option for wastewater treatment. DTS applications are designed to meet requirements stipulated in environmental laws and regulations.

Modules of DTS
The anaerobic reactor modules are:

  • Settler
  • Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR)
  • Fixed Film Reactor (FFR)

Plus (+) optional modules may be included under specific cases:

  • Planted Gravel Filter (PGF) vertical or horizontal flow
  • Sand filter (SF) (slow, rapid, aerated)
  • Chlorine dosing station (CL)
  • UV-treatment (UV)
  • Ozone-treatment
  • RO- Reverse osmosis

Ecological and economic advantages of DTS technology

The reactor modules of a DTS use anaerobic processes for stabilization of the wastewater, which require no process energy. The flow into and through the DTS is driven generally by gravity.

 

 

Process energy:

The DTS minimizes the requirement of process energy for the wastewater treatment; instead it produces energy in form of biogas in its anaerobic modules. This biogas can be tapped and used direct for cooking or lighting or converted into electricity via gas-generator. Hence the energy balance of a DTS is positive and power cuts have no adverse effects on the treatment performance of the system.

GHG mitigations

Since no external energy is required to operate and instead a renewable energy is produced, the DTS lowers CO2 emission and saves non-renewable resources by substitution.
The fact that the construction materials are in general locally available, long transportation can be prevented which reduced the energy requirement for the construction.

Construction:

The reactor part of a DTS, first three anaerobic modules, are underground tanks, containing no electrical components like pumps, aerators, agitators etc. DTS is built using local and readily available materials such as concrete, cement blocks or bricks, and alternate materials like FRP, MS, plywood etc. This optimizes the durability of a DTS and guarantees a carefree operation for decades.

Maintenance:

DTS technology does not need pumps, valves, aerators, and therefore day-to-day human intervention is not essential for operation. The sludge production is only 5 % in comparison to the sludge produced from a corresponding aerobic. Desludging of the anaerobic tanks is required only once in 18 months. The mineralized sludge is dewatered for further reuse as fertilizer and soil conditioner in landscaping and agriculture.

Reuse potential of DTS:

Raw wastewater is a resource containing water, nutrients and some energy. The DTS technology allows an extensive separation and subsequent reuse of these three components and is therefore a technical option for ecological/sustainable sanitation. The water can be reused after treatment for irrigation, flushing, washing, cooling/heating, after respective polishing modules are introduced. Part of the nutrients leave the anaerobic reactor modules dissolved in the water, a part settles in the mineralized sludge at the bottom of the anaerobic tanks. In case the effluent water is reused for Irrigation purpose, it has also some fertilizing effect to the plants. The energy is tapped as biogas (methane), formed in the anaerobic modules of the system, and can be used for cooking, lighting or electricity production.

The treatment undergoes the following processes

Detailed description of the core

Modules Stage 1: Settler

 

  • Solid- liquid separation of the effluent
  • Anaerobic bacteria decompose the pollutants
  • Efficiency: BOD reduction 25%- 40%

Module Stage 2: Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR)

  • Up- flow of wastewater in a series of baffled chambers
  • Activated sludge at the bottom of each chamber
  • Efficiency: BOD reduction 70%- 90%

Stage 3: FIXED FILM REACTOR (FFR)

  • Fixed bed or fixed film reactors
  • The filter is made out of gravel, slag or plastic elements
  • Efficiency: BOD reduction 70%- 90%

Treatment efficiency

The anaerobic core modules of a DTS reach high removal efficiencies in terms of organic content (BOD, COD) and TSS. BOD effluent concentrations fulfill national wastewater effluent standards concerning organic pollutants. The anaerobic treatment (absence of oxygen) disables extensive nitrogen removal. Therefore, the effluent of the anaerobic core modules contains high levels of nutrients (N and P) and is therefore just right for irrigation purpose. By introduction of additional “polishing modules” the required water quality of the projected reuse purpose can be achieved.

Test sample of DTS after the anaerobic core modules [Project: DTS for Kundalahalli Lake Bangalore]

Space requirements

If integrated well into the existing structure, the space required for the DTS is not lost space. On the underground construction e.g. a parking space or playground can get established; PGF/Sand filter can get integrated as a part of the Landscaping concept, aesthetically appealing and ecologically valuable.