Organic Wastewater Treatment Study
Reducing biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, and suspended solids
Project overview
Client: Vlevia
Location: Belgium
Industry: Industrial Meat Processing (Beef Cutting)
Key Results
Regulatory roadmap
Established a clear technical path to achieve environmental permit compliance.
Pollutant identification
Confirmed that a significant portion of the organic load was non-sedimentable, requiring more than simple gravity treatment.
Techno-economic clarity
Provided a comparative analysis of treatment technologies, including projected investment and operating costs.
The challenge
Maintaining discharge parameters in compliance with environmental permits while reducing high pollution taxes.
Vlevia, a beef cutting facility, produces significant organic waste during its daily cleaning operations. Despite using 4 mm screens and a grease trap, the facility regularly exceeded discharge limits for Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), and suspended solids.
Existing data were insufficient to solve the problem, as they relied on only two or three spot samples per year. Vlevia needed to ensure compliance ahead of inspection. Without a detailed understanding of the wastewater’s variability and its chemical makeup, any investment in treatment equipment would carry a high risk of failure or over-sizing.
What Revalio delivered
Revalio conducted a comprehensive engineering study to objectify the situation and engineer the most efficient solution:
Automated sampling campaign: Deployed a sampling station for a full week to take flow-proportional samples every day, capturing the real peaks of the cleaning cycle.
Laboratory validation: Partnered with the CEBEDEAU laboratory to analyse COD, BOD5, and nitrogen levels, discovering that the average COD (892 mg/L) consistently exceeded the 800 mg/L limit.
Fraction analysis: Conducted settling tests, which revealed that even after two hours, organic levels remained near the threshold, proving that the pollution was colloidal and resistant to basic settling tanks.
Market assessment: Requested and compared quotes for civil engineering, earthworks, and equipment to provide a realistic CAPEX and OPEX projection.
How the study works
The study follows a systematic approach to de-risk the client's environmental investment:
Data objectification: Measuring exactly what goes into the sewer by correlating water consumption with wastewater production using smart monitoring.
Sizing and dimensioning: Calculating the necessary buffer volumes to manage peak flows, which can reach over 10 m³/h, avoiding the need for oversized treatment units.
Technology selection: Comparing concepts ranging from simple settling to advanced biological treatment, evaluating each against Vlevia’s budget, space constraints, and required performance.
Action plan: Developing a phased implementation strategy that prioritises high-impact interventions to meet regulatory deadlines.
“Revalio is not looking to simply sell a solution; they work with us to find the specific answer that fits our operational needs and our constraints.” - Vlevia Management.
Results
✓ Decisions based on a week-long representative sampling campaign rather than random spot checks.
✓ Identified that flow equalisation is required to manage peak cleaning volumes.
✓ Laboratory jar tests validated that the proposed technology will meet permit limits.
✓ Clear projection of capital and operational expenditure before the start of the works.
✓ Recommendation to link main water meters to the Shayp platform for real-time anomaly detection.
Looking for a custom roadmap?
Standard solutions often fail because every site has unique constraints. Whether you need to reduce your wastewater volume, treat complex effluents, or explore water reuse, Revalio starts with a precise study. We help you define priorities and engineer the most cost-effective path to compliance.
Start your study with our experts.