ORGANICA FOOD CHAIN REACTOR TECHNOLOGY PUT TO THE TEST

Murray & Roberts Water is the licence holder for the Organica Food chain Reactor technology in South Africa.

This technology is a new and innovative approach to wastewater treatment for urban areas and metros. Wastewater treatment plants use an organic process i.e. bacteria in different life cycles, to treat water. By installing plants in the treatment facility, Organica utilises the natural symbiosis between the root structures and the bacteria to provide a far more effective treatment process. The treatment plant is also incorporated in an aesthetically pleasing greenhouselike structure.

Compared to conventional treatment plants, this approach significantly reduces the footprint and life cycle cost of a treatment facility. It is also the only facility that addresses the social footprint associated with wastewater treatment plants. The treated effluent can be re-used in non-potable applications or treated further to produce potable water. This technology can be retrofitted to existing facilities to increase the throughput, or engineered to the clients’ specifications as a complete turnkey solution.

“We have been marketing the technology to the municipal sectors, but although there are numerous international references of operational facilities outside of South Africa, the technology is largely perceived as unproven within South Africa” says Harry Singleton, Operations Executive at Murray & Roberts Water.

To change this perception, Murray & Roberts Water has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with eThekwini Municipality and is in the process of erecting a 0.12 million
litres per day containerised Organica demonstration plant at the Verulam Wastewater Treatment Plant. The demonstration plant will treat a side stream of sewage from the larger Verulam site.

The demonstration plant aims to prove the technology in South African conditions and will be done by operating both the main plant and demonstration plant in parallel, using the same sewage source as feed and comparing both plant’s performance against each other, as well as against expected performance, based on process simulations.

Concludes Harry, “The demonstration plant has already gained interest from the market with potential clients eager to visit the plant at the official opening in April.”