Biological treatment of wastewater: Special use of bacteria

Turning coke plant wastewater into drinking water

Cleanliness requirements for industrial wastewater are increasing. In many countries, authorities are steadily raising standards for wastewater quality. China is taking this a step further: It wants to banish all wastewater from its industries. For example, coke plants in China are only licensed if the operator guarantees that all wastewater will be recycled. To date, however, even the most thorough cleaning processes have been unable to purify coke plant wastewater to the required extent.

Our new biomechanical cleaning process uses bacteria to remove toxic substances from coke plant wastewater.

Our new biomechanical cleaning process uses bacteria to remove all toxic substances from coke plant wastewater. After a further treatment step, the water is so clean it would even be suitable for drinking.

For this we grow bacterial cultures that can handle even high concentrations of harmful substances. Previously, the wastewater had to be diluted in a complex process before it could be treated by bacteria. Our new filter membranes are another important innovation. They ensure that at the end of the process the bacterial cultures are separated out completely, leaving the wastewater free of biomass.

And this new biological wastewater cleaning process doesn’t just work in the lab: The coke plant at the Hüttenwerke Krupp-Mannesmann steel mill in Duisburg uses the new process to clean up to 30 cubic meters of wastewater per hour. Afterwards the water is so clean that it can be discharged into the nearby River Rhine without problems.