Water & wastewater sector

Water & wastewater

water sector

Our water sector experience

The AFECO team have been developing and delivering projects for the water industry for over 20 years both in the UK and overseas where our experience includes clean and wastewater networks and infrastructure. Our key area of specialism lies in the treatment of wastewaters and sludges, and in particular sludge treatment using conventional and advanced anaerobic digestion, an area in which our process and commissioning knowledge is widely recognised throughout the industry.

complete turn-key solutions

An extensive in-house process

We firmly believe that the operational requirements of a facility should form an integral part of the engineering design solutions and we draw on our extensive in-house process, commissioning and operational experience to ensure this knowledge is captured effectively at the front end and to ensure that our solutions are operationally robust as well as energy efficient and cost effective.

Innovation sits at the heart of everything we do and our engineers continually review practices, processes and technology solutions to ensure we are always able to offer the best available solutions to our clients, whether they are looking for a stand-alone work package or a complete turnkey solution. Our innovative yet robust technical and commercial knowledge combines perfectly to enable us to develop and deliver feasibility studies, business cases and designs for a wide range of projects and we have the engineering skills to implement the projects once approved.

water and wastewater capabilities

Our capabilities

Process engineering, optioneering and site surveys
Mechanical, electrical and ICA design from concept to detail
Commissioning support, process optimisation and trouble shooting
Business case evaluation and preparation for ‘spend to save’ projects
Novel and innovative technologies and solutions
Turnkey solutions particularly for Ops led projects
Wastewater and sludge processes and solutions

We specialise in the commissioning, optimisation and trouble shooting of small and large scale wastewater treatment facilities and in process and performance optimisation. We also provide the commissioning management and support required to facilitate plant hand over. Our approach to innovation enables us to deliver new treatment solutions that deliver real whole life cost savings and represent a step change in conventional sewage treatment.

water and wastewater specialisms

Our specialisms

Process design and comissioning
M&E design and installation
Commissioning management and support
Process and performance optimisation
Innovative technologies and processes
Sludge treatment
Anaerobic digestion
Wastewater treatment – all stages
Biogas utilisation
Energy optimisation, reduction and generation

Comprehensive solutions for wastewater treatment

Effective solutions

bio-cage

bio-cage is a low cost and virtually maintenance free physical sludge dewatering device that requires no chemicals or power.

Developed by AFECO to address the huge costs faced by water utilities when transporting liquid sludges from remote wastewater treatment sites to sludge treatment centres, bio-cage^TM is a truly innovative and effective solution.

Reducing the costs associated with sludge transportation is an ongoing challenge for water utilities and a key target to reduce both operational costs and carbon footprint. Whilst wastewater sludges typically have a low sludge content, the cost of conventionally dewatering these sludges is not commercially viable. There is also a need to keep the dry solids content below a threshold after which tankering becomes problematic and extended storage periods in sludge holding tanks on site can cause septicity.

Bio-cage^TM is the perfect solution. Designed, manufactured and installed by our in-house team, bio-cage^TM is easily retrofitted into existing sludge holding tanks. Requiring no power or chemicals and with minimal maintenance requirements, bio-cage^TM really does offer an appropriate, cost effective and viable solution that will deliver significant operational savings for water utilities.

Installed and performance verified on over 60 wastewater sites in the UK, bio-cage^TM generates an average 30% to up to 60% decrease in sludge volume with an associated reduction in transport costs. The average payback of the technology is between 12 and 24 months and it is effective on a range of sludge makes and tank configurations.

Final effluent reuse solutions

Our final effluent re-use systems deliver high quality effluent to the point to use through a combination of solids removal and disinfection to prevent microbial growth – ideal for non-potable water applications.Increasing population combined with a changing climate is putting more and more strain on our water resources. In addition, the recent OFWAT price review has set targets to water companies of 16% leakage reduction. These challenges can only be met through a combination of initiatives and for water companies who are encouraging customers to use less water, leading by example by reducing their own potable water consumption is a critical PR effort.

There are many processes at wastewater treatment works that use potable water, including polymer make up, carrier water and odour control. Washwater is sometimes used for these applications but is rarely suitable without further treatment. In addition, many light industries and farm land surrounding wastewater treatment works also have high potable water demands that could be replaced with an enhanced treated final effluent.

Our package FE reuse solution is a skid mounted system built at our workshop to suit the specific demands of each application. Using an effective combination of automatic filtration and UV disinfection, we can take final effluent and treat it to a standard where there is no detriment when it s used to replace potable water for non-drinking water applications. Coupled with an integrated control system and low power consumption, the return of investment is sub- 2 years.

We are confident that our solution is both commercially and technically effective, providing a system that will provide immediate savings and reduce the pressure on our value resources. With proven efficacy in multiple water company applications, our system is easy to install and maintain whilst giving maximum benefits.

FOG reception and handling

Supercharge your biogas production with our containerised FOG handling system able to handle arrange of FOG for controlled feed directly to your digesters.

Fats, oils and greases (FOG) are widely recognised as having the potential to significantly increase biogas production. Yet they are, by nature, inherently difficult to handle and process.

Our solution is built on years of experience in the treatment of FOG at sludge treatment centres. We have worked with a range of FOG grades and qualities to boost biogas production. Our solution is a cost effective answer to maximise the biogas production from new and existing assets alike.

Our skid mounted system has been designed to receive a range of FOG, process them and feed them into existing anaerobic digestors at a controlled rate, ensuring the FOG remain in solution to avoid blockages.

Our design has been developed in house, collaborating our first hand operational experience with the technical expertise of engineers and scientists, including industry recognised field leaders. We are able to advise on feed rates and performance targets to ensure your digesters are not overloaded.

AFECO’s development and delivery of bio-cageTM across Southern Water is an ideal example of an effective optimisation initiative – it is both innovative and robust and is delivering quantifiable and proven benefits to the business. This initiative demonstrated the high standards and engineering capability of AFECO.

Anne-Marie McDonald, Southern Water

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Accreditations

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Whether you have a specific project in mind or if you’d like to find out more about our water & wastewater services and how we can help you, we’d love to hear from you.