FAQ’s

It is a combination of wastewater treatment using bio-mass that treats the water to a re-use level. It produces biomass, bio-methane (for energy production or compression), and soil conditioners to rehabilitate poor soil.

As we make use of biological processes and the power of the sun to do our work (with more than a helping hand from bacteria and algae) we do not require significant amounts of energy to operate (unlike comparable solutions). In fact, we are energy-positive - i.e. we produce more energy than we consume. We are also carbon-negative. We consume carbon dioxide during the processing of wastewater, and by anaerobically digesting the bio-mass, we stop that bio-mass from being dumped in landfill, sequestering the Methane produced, washing out the carbon dioxide and re-processing it effectively abating natural gas production in the process. We also look at every aspect of our design, maintenance procedures and operations in order to minimize our carbon footprint and the carbon footprint of our plants wherever possible.

Whether looking at CAPEX, OPEX or the TCO, you will find that Algaesys comes out ahead of the competition. While it isn’t possible to quote an exact price for a system, as it largely depends on the wastewater content and volume, we have been able to see our cost in relation to equivalent SBR/MBR systems and there are several factors that result in us being significantly cheaper than our competitors, namely:

• Footprint - we occupy one-quarter of the footprint of a comparable solution

• Speed - we process water up to ten times faster than comparable solutions.

• Simplicity - we require no chemical or process engineers to run the plant during its lifetime.

• Power - with a small PV solution, we require no external power source (we can operate completely off-grid).

• Modularity - due to our design, we can be up and operational quickly and can simply swap out components or expand without complex additional works.

• Efficacy - we remove microplastics, microfibers, nitrates, phosphates, heavy metals, pathogens, hormones, medications and persistent organic contaminants.

Our most pessimistic estimates show us to be at least seventy per cent cheaper than a comparable alternate solution when looking at the TCO, with a higher degree of flexibility and usability.

No. Any well-run wastewater processing plant should be odour-free. Our solution is not only odourless but is also self-contained in a greenhouse to protect the vital components (algae & bacteria) from the elements while ensuring they still have access to sunlight.

While the system is suitable for almost all potential applications, unsurprisingly there are some processes for which it would not make sense to use the Algaesys solution. Where the flow rates are too high (gigalitres per day - although theoretically, our solution would scale to be able to service that kind of volume) it is, as yet, untried. Any industrial process that has a significant quantity of algaecide or toxins that are in sufficient quantity to kill living organisms would need to be diluted or pre-treated before our system could be used. Any location with limited sunlight, low temperatures or limited daylight hours would also prove more challenging to set up a sustainable solution that relies on solar power.

As with all biological systems, there are limitations to what the Algaesys treatment train can handle, although many of the limitations have a workaround that could be implemented for an energy cost. Water Temperature: the process needs water to be above 15°C and ideally above 25°C for optimal operation. Practically, high temperatures aren’t an issue.

Light: the process needs at least 3 hours of good sunshine every couple of days. Both of these limitations can be overcome (water heaters, UV lamps), but we would likely only consider this, if the limitation were seasonal. If there is too much light, we would likely just have some shading.

We control most other environmental aspects by ensuring that the plant is housed in a greenhouse.

A single PBR (Photo Bio Reactor) can process around 50kL/day. As the PBR’s can work in parallel, there is no practical limit to the amount of water that could be processed in a day. Logistics of this would be discussed on a case by case basis. The system can deal with as low a flow as you like providing we feed the biological element. However, we typically recommend a minimum requirement of roughly 20kL/day.

It depends on the size of the plant, but a good indication for many small to medium plants is that two visits a week of 3hrs per visit would be sufficient to carry out the normal cleaning and testing operations.

Our longest operating plant (since 2014) has never had to be re-seeded, as it is constantly renewing itself. This despite regularly being exposed to toxic chemicals, extremes of temperature and flow variations.

We measure our build and commissioning time on the basis of the plant equipment itself and the setup of the biological process. Other elements, such as permitting, groundworks, building construction, etc. are out of our control. It takes us approximately 3 weeks to oversee the setup of a small to medium-sized plant housed in a single building. It takes another 2 weeks of testing and 6 to 8 weeks of biological commissioning to make the plant operational.

This depends on two things.

Firstly; the structure used to house the plant. If we commission a plant in sea-containers then in principle there is no reason it can’t be moved around.

Secondly; the type of water being treated is important. We commission based on the influent and the required treatment level for the effluent. If you move the plant around between locations, if the water being treated is similar and contains what we need, then moving is not an issue. If there are significant differences, then we would potentially need to biologically re-commission at the new location.