Upstream: Produced Water Treatment

State-of-the-art plant with an innovative, multi-stage treatment system and a biological process for the first time combined with filtration systems for produced water treatment plant. WABAG was responsible for the design & engineering, construction, delivery, installation and commissioning of this essential project.
Package
- Storage and settlement tanks
- Dissolved-air-flotation (DAF)
- Cooling towers
- Biological treatment based on the activated sludge process
- Lamella clarifiers
- Two-layer filtration with flocculation and coagulation and activated carbon filtration
- Sludge dewatering
- Service water station
Complete Water Solutions

Complete water package with first of its kind advanced processes and technologies like HHP Wet Air Oxidation, Bioremediation, Bardenpo Process based BNR, Thermal Oxidiser, BIOPUR® and Reject meeting TN standards.
WABAG’s scope of work includes design, engineering, procurement, supervision of installation and commissioning & testing of an effluent treatment plant with reverse osmosis, demineralisation & condensate polishing and raw water treatment package. Dangote Oil Refining Company is the largest single train refinery in the world.
Package
- Package 01: Effluent Treatment plant
- Package 02: Reverse Osmosis, Demineralisation and Condensed Polishing Unit plant
- Package 03 : Raw Water Intake
- Package 04: Raw Water Treatment Plant
Effluent Treatment

A state-of-the-art treatment system which ensures the reduction of contaminants in the effluents of the complex to well below the regulatory discharge limits. Run-off water and effluents from all sources in RAPID (Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development Project), as well as Cogen Plant are collected and segregated so that specific treatment can be applied. The ETP is the largest in Asia.
Package
- Integrated ETP for new RAPID Complex
- Treating a total capacity of 102,864 m3/d
- Effluents from seven different types of wastewater streams are treated exclusively
- Customized multi-stage ETP including sludge and VOC treatment
- EPC – turnkey-execution
Water Reclamation

India’s first refinery wastewater recycling system based on membrane technology. One of the world‘s largest plants with 90% recovery.
Package
- Clarification
- Filtration
- Ultrafiltration
- Reverse Osmosis and Demineralisation
- Recycling for reuse as boiler feed water
Complex Effluent Treatment & Recycling

WABAG has set up a plant to treat a cocktail of PTA process effluent streams generated from expansion of the PTA and PET plants in Dahej, Gujarat. It is the largest recycling plant for PTA Effluent in India. A tailor-made, advanced process design was employed, combining the activated sludge process (MBR) and anaerobic treatment (UASB) in a single unit.
The recycling plant comprises ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis technologies; purified water is reused as utility water (80% recovery rate). The biogas generated during anaerobic treatment (34,000 m3/d) is used as flue gas for plant utility purposes providing about 40% savings in heating costs.
Package
- Module 1 – Converting effluent streams like process effluents from Polyester Staple Fibre plant, oily water stream, sanitary wastewater and treated effluent from existing effluent treatment plant & cooling tower blow down to reuse quality with 80% recovery.
- Module 2&3 – Process effluents from Poly Terephthalate Acid (PTA) and Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET) production & demineralisation water effluent treated to reuse quality with Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor (UASB), Membrane Bio Reactor (MBR), Ultra Filtration and Reverse Osmosis.
Refurbishment and Upgrade

Update of an existing plant to state-of-the-art ETP (30,000 m3/d) implementing a comprehensive technological optimisation and upgrading programme. The modernisation process commenced in 2010 and was realised in two phases during continuous plant operation. In addition, a self-washing filtration system was installed for enhanced water reuse.
Package
- Slop Oil Recovery – API
- Dissolved Air Flotation – DAF
- Activated Sludge Process
- Slop and Sludge Tri-canters
- VOC Odour Treatment
Compact Effluent Treatment Solutions

To meet more stringent environmental standards a containerized solution comprising multi treatment steps was designed and built. Commissioning was completed on site.
Package
- Oil separators (CPI)
- DAF (Dissolved Air Flotation)
- Low footprint Lamella separators
- Activated sludge treatment
High Salinity Raw Water Treatment

The project acted as a solution to the issues faced by the client due to salinity in the intake water from Narmada river. The project was completed in a record breaking time of 8 ¾ months including engineering, supply, construction, testing and commissioning.
Package
- Basket Strainer
- Ultrafiltration
- Reverse Osmosis
- Reject Reverse Osmosis, achieving high recovery rate of 80 – 85%
Balance of Plant

Complete Balance of Plant for 1 X 600 MW Rayalaseema Thermal Power Project Stage IV Unit 6
Package
- Coal Handling
- Ash Handling
- Cooling Tower
- Chimney
- Water Systems
- Compressed Air
- Fire Protection Air-conditioning and Ventilation
- Railway Siding
Sea Water Treatment

Continuous production of RO treated water despite variation in feed water TDS load. Reduction in operating expenditure using energy recovery device. Efficient brine discharge mechanism for low impact on the environment
Package
- Sea water intake system
- Pre-treatment (Plate settler, Gravity Dual Media Filter and Pressure Sand filter for fine filtration)
- RO Based Desalination process
- Energy Recovery Device: Turbocharger
- Plant Control – Automatic operation with PLC based Control System
ETP & Recycling Solutions

Turnkey contract for Plant Water System and Balance of Plant including a wastewater treatment plant as part of the expansion of the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited power plant in Vizag, India.
Highlight being the downstream ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis systems which facilitate efficient water recycling. The reclaimed water is re-used as make-up water for cooling tower.
Demineralisation / Condensate Polishing Unit

Objectives
- Continuous production of polished condensate
- Removal of corrosion residuals
- Reduction of operating costs
- Low impact to the environment
Package
- High Pressure Condensate Polishing Unit
- Resin Transfer to Regeneration area
- Cation and Anion Resin Separation
- Cationic Regeneration
- Anionic Regeneration
- Resin Transfer to Service Vessel Area
- PLC Based automatic operation
Water Treatment Plant

WABAG blazed through intense competition to upgrade the water filtration plant for ArcelorMittal Ostrava a.s., the largest steelmaker in the Czech Republic and part of the world’s largest steel and mining group ArcelorMittal.
Package
- Upgrade of Water Treatment Plant: two-chamber sand pressure filters, filtration and wastewater pumps incl. chemical dosing and sludge treatment.
Complete Water Solutions

Turnkey contract for Plant Water System and Balance of Plant including a wastewater treatment plant as part of the expansion of the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited power plant in Vizag, India.
Highlight being the downstream ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis systems, facilitates efficient water recycling. The reclaimed water is to be re-used as make-up water for cooling tower.
At the Visakhapatnam steelworks, secondary effluent from the municipal wastewater treatment plant is further treated by means of ultrafiltration followed by Reverse Osmosis. The purified water is reused as cooling water in the steelworks.
Package
- Cooling towers
- Pumping Station
- Ultrafiltration
- Reverse Osmosis
- Demineralisation
- Wastewater Treatment Plant
Water Reclamation Plant

The project comprised of the water treatment in cooling circuit ZPO. The aim was the reuse of the recycled water for the steel works. To meet the strict requirements WABAG implemented a system mainly consisting of two piping flocculators, one flotation unit and five two-chamber sand filters. Capacity is 48,000 m3/d.
Package
- Flotation
- Piping flocculators
- Flotation unit
- Filter installation
- Two-chamber sand filters max. flow rate 5 x 400 m3/h
- Chemical system
Raw Water Treatment Plant

Raw water treatment plant for Nigeria’s largest fertiliser complex using a combination of biological treat-ment (SBR) and membrane filtration – ultrafiltration & reverse osmosis – as a tertiary treatment.
Package
- Biological treatment system
- Dual Media Filter
- Ultrafiltration system
- Pre-treatment, Filtration, Backwash
- Chemical enhanced backwash (CEB)
- UF permeate tank
- RO system
- Cartridge filters
- RO membranes
- CIP system
- Reject discharge system
- Outfall piping & sub-sea diffuser piping for reject disposal
Water Treatment Plant

Objectives
- Reliable operation
- Continuous production of Demineralized water
- Reduction of operating costs
- Low impact to the environment
Package
- Decarbonators
- Filtration (Auto backwash filter)
- De-cationization (SAC)
- De-Anionization (SBA)
- Mixed bed Exchanger (MB)
- Potable water filters (ACF)
- Neutralization Pit ( N. Pit)
Wastewater Treatment for Dairy effluents

WABAG has realized a wastewater treatment plant for the purification of effluents emanating from the dairy “Tunisie Lait” located in Sidi Bou Ali (25 km from Sousse). The project included the design, detail engineering, supply, installation and commissioning of the equipment for the industrial wastewater plant. The process employed is a low-load activated sludge treatment which enables the achievement of the required treated effluent quality.
Package
- Screen, homogenization, grease removal
- Biological reactor with anoxic tank
- Degassing zone
- Secondary sedimentation tank
- Sludge thickening and dewatering Sludge beds in safety
Wastewater Treatment Plant for Beverages Production

Modernisation of industrial effluent treatment plant based on the MBBR process (FLUOPUR®) with a capacity of 2,550 m3/d. The new design was successfully tested on the spot for several months using a pilot prior to full-scale installation. Turnkey completion followed by 15 months O&M.
Package
- Pre-treatment
- Ph control
- Biological treatment (MBBR process)
- Sludge dewatering (new)
- Design, engineering, supply, installation, commissioning
- O&M
Wastewater Treatment Plant for Snack Production

The Kashira plant is one of the largest and most modern snack manufacturing sites both in Russia and continental Europe. In line with PEPSI Co‘s intention to increase the production capacity, it awarded WABAG Romania with the refurbishment and extension of the WWTP with a capacity of 1,460 m3/d (average).
Package
- Increase of capacity from 45 m3/h to 60 m3/h (peak 105 m3/h)
- Renewal and extension of the electro-mechanical equipment
- Design, equipment supply, installation, commissioning and start-up.
Al Kharj Industrial City

Realisation of an effluent treatment plant with the target of the reuse of industrial effluents emanating from various production facilities – including wood and metal industries, construction material production as well as chemical and petroleum industries. Employment of a multi-stage-treatment system with a capacity of 10,000 m3/d.
Package
- Pre-treatment
- Chemical Precipitation
- Primary Sedimentation
- Equalization
- Biological Treatment
- Disc Filtration
- Disinfection
- Sludge treatment
- Odor treatment
UJAMS Industrial Park

The first Industrial Wastewater Treatment & MBR along with Reuse situated in Namibia. Based on MBR this plant completely recycles a crucial influent which comprises of wastewater blends from a tannery, a brewery, an abattoir and a chocolate factory. The plant showcases state of the art MICROPUR-MBR® technology supported in the later phases by UV, sludge treatment and exhaust air treatment.
The plant is a prime example of WABAG‘s technological knowhow when it comes to Industrial Water Reclamation. This project received the Distinction Award for the “Industrial Water Project of the Year 2015” at the Global Water Summit in Athens, Greece.
Package
- Pre-treatment
- Dry weather buffer tank including pH correction
- Fine sieving by MICROPUR®
- Membrane Bioreactor – MBR
- UV-Disinfection
- Clear water tank
- Sludge treatment
- Odour treatment
Tobacco Industry – ETP for Otopeni factory

The state-of-the-art factory of Philip Morris International (PMI) in Otopeni, located very close to Bucharest, is to be expanded by y new production line which requires also a respective effluent treatment plant. A tailor-made multi-stage treatment plant employing advanced technologies to meet all requirements will be installed. The plant is designed for a capacity of 800 m3/day with additional treatment possibility of 800 m3/day for utilities wastewater to make it suitable for discharge or reuse.
Package
- Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF)
- Biological treatment – the WABAG FLUOPUR® process (MBBR technology)
- Dual Media Filter
- Activated Carbon (GAC) Filtration
- Odour control system
IOCL Paradip ETP: outstanding contribution in water efficiency & conservation

Initial state
The port town of Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district, Odisha was facing acute drinking water shortage due to over exploitation of groundwater resources by industries surrounding the town. The port town is home to about two lakh people.
IOCL’s refinery at Paradip is also one among the industries relying on the water sources available around Paradip. A refinery requires huge amount of water for its daily operations. The water crisis became more severe during the summer. Realizing the fact that “Drinking water is the fundamental right of living beings”, IOCL decided to set-up an effluent treatment and water reclamation plant inside its premises to reduce the dependency on external water sources and to prioritize freshwater for the residents of Paradip.
Challenges
Efficient treatment and recycle of the complex effluent generated by the refinery. Need for a proven and innovative blend of processes based on the variation and contamination in the effluent. To attain more efficiency in the process for obtaining greater volume of water that can be reused as a significant contribution towards conservation of fresh water.
The solution
WABAG was entrusted with the design, engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and start-up and test operation of an environmental friendly and cost efficient water management system for IOCL Paradip.
The effluent treatment and recycling plant, which is the largest industrial recycling plant in India, ensures this by recycling around 54,000 m3 of treated water every day for the refinery. Enabling water reuse of such a huge quantum by WABAG’s processes is outstanding in nature and sets a precedent for similar sustainable water management infrastructure in upcoming refineries. By ensuring maximum reuse of the generated effluent for application as process water in the refinery, dependence on freshwater is reduced by over 17,000 ML every year, helping prioritize fresh water for irrigation & domestic purposes, the priority sectors in India.
Technologies
The effluent is a cocktail of Oily water, stripped sour water, spent caustic, cooling tower blow down, sanitary wastewater & DM Plant regeneration waste which could severely impact the environment if discharged untreated.
This complex effluent is treated in a number of stages comprising free oil removal through API and TPI separator, emulsified oil removal through DAF (Dissolved Air Flotation), biological treatment using bio-tower and activated sludge process, treatment for spent caustic and treatment for landfill leachate. Subsequently, the treated effluent is subjected to further treatment (Ultra Filtration & High Efficiency Reverse Osmosis achieving a consistent recovery rate of around 85%) to enable reuse in the refinery. The concept is rounded off by final sludge treatment with thickening and dewatering in centrifuges.
The project highlights a comprehensive treatment model for a complex effluent where WABAG’s vision for eco-friendly solutions is reflected in the treatment of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) and passing of RO reject water through a hard COD management unit before discharge into the sea. This ensures the environment around the refinery is not polluted with harmful contaminants.
Global Recognition
ASSOCHAM honoured WABAG with Water Management Excellence Awards 2018 for “Outstanding Contribution in Water Efficiency & Conservation” for its comprehensive water management system for IOCL, Paradip at the National Conference-cum-Expo & Awards in Water Management, New Delhi.
Conclusion
Oil & Gas is the one of the major growth drivers of India’s economy. With a no. of mega refineries and petrochemical complexes planned in the next 3 years, the demand for water for process applications in such complexes is expected to grow manifold. In view of India’s water scenario, where the per capita availability is reducing, there is a need to provide feasible and sustainable water solutions. This will benefit in three ways. First, ensuring water security for industries, thus averting shutdowns, enhancing productivity. Second, water reduction in burden on limited freshwater sources available. The limited freshwater can be prioritized for domestic and agricultural consumption. Third, eco-friendly discharge of harmful and complex effluents is ensured in line with global environmental norms.
Ujams industrial project: Low footprint and high-efficiency water reclamation plant

Initial Situation – every drop counts
Windhoek lies in the middle of Namibia, the driest nation south of the Sahara. The city has always struggled with water shortages and – as an answer – since the 1960s, has been employing Water Reclamation facilities to enhance water security.
The Ujams Industrial Water Reclamation Plant is located in the city’s northern industrial area and treats around 1.5 million m3 industrial effluents per year. The existing WWTP had to be replaced with a new treatment plant to meet the new discharge regulations into sensitive freshwater sources.
Requirements
The aim of the new advanced industrial wastewater treatment plant was to purify the effluent and reclaim the water for further reuse in augmentation of the Klein-Windhoek River and other applications such as dust control during road construction. The plant treats a cocktail of effluents: an abattoir, a brewery and a tannery are the main sources of the wastewater. The major challenge was to cope with extreme variations in terms of influent load and characteristics – high and fluctuating COD (peaks > 10,000 mg/L) and nitrogen (peaks > 300 mg/L) concentration.
The solution – showing an extremely compact and flexible process design.
Within the framework of an international tender the City of Windhoek chose WABAG as an innovative and reliable partner to realize the water reclamation plant on BOOT model.
WABAG designed a compact, highly-efficient and flexible process including its new fine sieving technology MICROPUR® as advanced pre-treatment. This innovative fine sieving system significantly improves removal efficiency for organic contaminants & fibres as well as oils and fats, resulting in enhanced operational safety and reducing the load on downstream treatment steps. This ensures optimization of the complete wastewater treatment plant in terms of efficiency as well as a reduction in operating costs.
MICROPUR-MBR® – WABAG employed a combination of advanced fine sieving technology MICROPUR® with the well-known membrane bioreactor technology MARAPUR® This complete low footprint technology is characterised by high biomass concentrations in the activated sludge tanks, enhanced phosphorus and nitrogen removal and reduced activated sludge tank volumes.
The entire process scheme comprises fine screen, grit separation, dry weather buffer tank including pH-correction, microsieving of raw wastewater, biological process of denitrification and nitrification, membrane filtration with hollow fiber membranes, UV-Disinfection, clear water tank incl. utilities and firefighting, sludge treatment and odour treatment.
Prior to full-scale installation, the proposed patented, low footprint process design was verified by setting up a pilot plant and diligently testing for 7 months.
Public-private partnership – BOOT project
WABAG not only financed the project through a long-term loan from the German DEG, but also provided innovative, in-house developed technologies for sustainable water recycling. Moreover, the WABAG JV is responsible for professional plant management for a period of 21 years.
Know-how transfer right from the start
WABAG has been committed to continuous development of local expertise for effective plant management through training modules of international standards, starting with the operation procedure of the pilot plant. The project presents an exemplary cooperation in Windhoek, Namibia. It is the first BOOT project in the water sector for the city of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.