Micro sewage treatment plant launched
A new micro waste treatment plant that can process 45 cubic meters of sewage a day has been launched by the Water Services Corporation.
A 20-foot sewage treatment container was built in collaboration with German company ItN Nanovation and the first plant is expected to be up and running in Bidnija by the end of the year, WSC chief executive Mark Muscat said.
He said that this form of waste treatment was ideal for hotels or small, remote areas. In such areas, sewage was currently collected in a cesspit that had to be emptied daily.
The new technology would allow sewage to be filtered through the container that would separate the sludge from the water. The sludge would then he collected, once every two months, and treated.
The water could be used for irrigation and with further filtering would also be suitable for drinking.
Mr Muscat said the corporation and the German company were negotiating to build the product for export.
It was estimated that a 20-foot container would sell for about €100,000.
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Philip Grech
Jun 12th 2010, 18:28
Should a public Corporation be in the business of building plants for export?
Mario Farrugia
Jun 14th 2010, 13:17
Good that you ask the question, the public corporation is being funded by the taxpayer, so has a fundemental cost advantage when competing with private companies. If this is lawful or not, I do not know.
Marco Cremona
Jun 12th 2010, 12:21
@Frans van Avendonk
Collaboration is not on the Maltese vocabulary. 5 years ago when I conceived the HOTER concept, I had both WSC and FM Environmental on board as partners. Both dropped out as soon as I managed to secure funding for the development of HOTER - FM sent me their reasons in writing, but I never got to know why WSC adandoned me just after I managed to ensure that whatever contribution they (WSC) gave to the project would be refunded 100%!!!
It seems that some people prefer to reinvent the wheel and do their own small thing on this little island, instead of collaborating and doing something significant, also at an international level. Don't know if it's suspicion, envy or the 'small island' mentality. Either way it's a pity.
Mario Farrugia
Jun 14th 2010, 13:14
The only reasons why FM Environmental declined to collaborate with Marco Cremona was on the basis that when asistance was requested, FM Environmental had already already designed and commercially sold a number of similar plants in Ireland on a number of sites both for domestic and commercial applications. Whilst these solutions seem to be a novelty in Malta and make news in the papers, those who like myself have been in the wastewater treatment field both locally and abroad for well over 10 years should know that the solutions being put forward in Malta are well established and have been commercially available for a number of years around the globe.
Marco Cremona
Jun 14th 2010, 15:51
@Mario Farrugia My HOTER project (in which FM Environmental were partners but pulled out on award of a research grant for the development of same) made it to the finals of the prestigious CNBC/Allianz Good Entrepreneur 2009 Competition which carried a prize tag of Euro 250,000. It was chosen as one of the three best green business ideas in Europe, beating more than 250 participants from all over the world. It also won the national prize in the Energy Globe Award 2009, and the France 5 TV Report Terre prize as the best environmental project in Europe. It seems that Mario Farrugia is alone (in the world) in believing that HOTER is all hype in the local media and nothing else. I have never belittled FM Environmental's products or work (on the contrary, I have referred my clients to them when I deemed that their solution was most appropriate) and I expect the same kind of treatment.
Marco Cremona
Jun 12th 2010, 12:11
Continued.....
Another lost opportunity, and one which would have fitted perfectly with the eco-Gozo concept. Sorry,but pumping sewage for eventual disposal into the sea is not eco in my books.
However, the biggest disappointment is the fact that this technology, which in reality has been around for years, was discarded by the same WSC in their building of the Malta-South sewage treatment plant. Instead we are building a massive concrete sewage treatment plant which will not be able to recover a single drop of water for re-use -unless WSC retrofits the still-to-be-constructed treatment plant with membranes.
5 years ago I launched a 'crusade' to convince WSC to use membranes. Furthermore I had shown that we did not need to build a new Malta-South sewage treatment plant but it was possible to upgrade the existing Sant-Antnin plant and triple its capacity by using membranes. No agricultural land would have been lost; we could have the treatment plant up and running in 2 years instead of 6, and we would have useable water for re-use.
Of course, my proposals were rubbished by the powers that be. 5 years on I am being proven right; pity that the country has lost out, again.
carmel cremona
Jun 13th 2010, 08:58
Yes, Marco. It is simple resistance from the powers that be to your project which won you world acclaim. But this is Malta!! Now they are realising how right you are, not in just this project but all others like the aquifer water level...after criticising you and others, now we are going to instal meterage on water extraction...tad dahk imma aktar tal-biki.
Marco Cremona
Jun 12th 2010, 11:51
I am glad that WSC have now set their sights on decentralised sewage treatment, with an emphasis on water re-use. A small number of localities in Malta - Bahrija and Bidnija - and Ghasri, Ghammar, St. Lucija and Gharb in Gozo are not connected to the sewage system and the sewage from these localities is collected in cesspits and is transported by bowser on a daily basis to the nearest manhole. This is of course inconvenient, inefficient and expensive in the long term.
However, my understanding is that WSC have discarded my suggestion for on-site sewage treatment for the 4 villages in Gozo and instead opted to build a pumping station and a kilometres-long rising main to pump the sewage half way across Gozo. So instead of providing a source of 2nd class water in the west of Gozo - where it's desperately needed, we will consume energy to pump sewage from these villages it to a municipal sewage treatment at the other side of Gozo that does not have the capability to recover the water.
continued....
Ryan Falzon
Jun 11th 2010, 20:14
I am the technical manager at FM Environmental (Malta) Ltd. and as Mario Farrugia mentioned we have designed and installed various sewage and grey water treatment plants here in Malta. Our latest installation, at the George Hotel (Westminister) in Paceville uses the latest membrane technology, probably the same technology WSC will be using due to the small volumes WSC have. Our mother company in Ireland has also designed and tested pilot plants which produce drinking water from domestic sewage but perception by the public of such plants is still poor!
Mario Farrugia
Jun 11th 2010, 19:50
Seems there is lack of knowledge what is already on the local market. 5 star hotels like the Hilton and Golden Sands, the Malta Maritime Authority and Mater Dei hospital already recycle wastewater through technology supplied by a local company. The new Westminster hotel in St. Julians will also commission a treatment plant in the next weeks. The company supplying the technology has been operating in Malta for over 10 years, and already exports such plants to a number of foreign countries.
Frans van Avendonk
Jun 11th 2010, 18:47
How does E100.000 compare to the cost of the device developed by Marco Cremona that produces drinking water? Why not cooperate with local knowledge?? Marco's devise has been running for a while near Golden Bay!
r. cutajar
Jun 11th 2010, 19:36
yes you are right sir we have seen that on tv and I have met Marco where he offered his system to another hotel though not sure if that hotel chose to use it by now how sad to let local talent by the wayside !
Vincent Gauci
Jun 12th 2010, 12:06
I have nothing against the WSC plant (because I have no details). All I can say is that I have been to the demonstration plant set up by Ing. Marco Cremona at Ghajn Tuffieha and I was positively impressed. I think some encouragement to this local entrepreneur would have been in order.