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Georgia-Pacific launches new biological waste water treatment plant
The new plant has the capacity to treat waste water from a population of 6,000 inhabitants
Allo, 14 July 2010. Georgia-Pacific has started up its new biological treatment plant MBBR (Moving Bed Bio Reactor) at its Allo mill (Navarre). Waste water treatment is one of the most critical processes within paper-making. This significant investment has resulted in:
• an improvement of the quality of water returned into the river Ega
• a reduction of the use of chemicals throughout the production process
• an overall reduction of water consumption throughout the paper-making process
“Georgia-Pacific is continuously striving to improve the environmental performance of its manufacturing sites. We believe that excellence in this area is required for long-term success,” states Juan Pablo Gallego, mill manager at Allo. “The new biological waste water treatment plant received a 7 percent backing of the total cost by the Government of Navarra,” he continues.
The launch of the new biological waste water treatment plant demonstrates how Georgia-Pacific uses innovative approaches to reduce its environmental impact and be a sustainable business. “At Georgia-Pacific we have a vision of achieving environmental excellence, so we actually went beyond what current laws determine. Our new plant operates much more efficiently and we are able to consistently exceed the environmental requirements imposed on us,” Gallego states.
Technical aspects
The waste water treatment plant has a new system to separate solids, two new parallel aerobic reactors, as well as a new secondary decanter at the reactor outlet, with a system to eliminate floating materials. The new water treatment plant also has a new sludge treatment unit and a new operation building next to the new plant.
The process chosen for the biological bed is the moving bed type, an innovative system in the treatment of waste water which provides an extensive surface of growth in the biomass reactor. The process has a series of advantages in comparison to the conventional biological processes reduction of the volume of the biological reactor as it has an elevated surface, flexibility to adapt to the production volume, fast recovery of the process in case of interruption and improved cleaning.
Headquartered at Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of building products, tissue, packaging, paper, cellulose and related chemicals. The company employs more than 40,000 people at approximately 300 locations in North America, South America and Europe. Georgia-Pacific creates long-term value by using resources efficiently to provide innovative products and solutions that meet the needs of customers and society, while operating in a manner that is environmentally and socially responsible and economically sound.
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