Waterstromen - Aviko
Production of fertilizer from potato processing wastewater
Aviko Potato processes 1,200,000 tonnes of potatoes per year in and outside Europe. Aviko has several potato processing plants in the Netherlands. Established in 1962, Aviko is currently one of the world’s top four potato processors.
The plant in Steenderen produces a range of potato products. The wastewater is treated by Dutch company Waterstromen and contains proteins, starch and phosphate, equalling an amount of 160,000 population equivalent. This stream is treated anaerobically in an UASB reactor. The organic compounds in the wastewater are converted biogas, from which the hydrogen sulphide is removed with THIOPAQ®.
The anaerobic effluent contains high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphate. It is treated with Paques’ PHOSPAQ™ technology in combination with ANAMMOX®. This recovers phosphate as struvite that can be used to produce fertilizer. Over 500 tonnes of struvite is sold each year to a fertilizer company. ANAMMOX® converts the ammonia in the wastewater to nitrogen gas using a very energy effective technology, with minimal use of resources.
The combination of ANAMMOX® and PHOSPAQ™ reduces nitrogen and phosphate levels in the anaerobic effluent to such an extent, that over € 1.5 million a year is saved on discharge costs. This also results in an extra production of 1.5 GWh net electric power per year and 600 tonnes less sludge production. Ammonium and phosphor levels are reduced by 90% and 80% respectively. And it is done in a smaller space. Less than five times the reactor volume is needed compared to the conventional solution (1,200 m3 instead of 7,000 m3).
