A new treatment method will reduce drug residues in the wastewater by up to 100 times, writes the newspaper Ingenjören. The method is being tested in a pilot plant south of Stockholm.
TT Himmerfjärden i södra Botkyrka. Stock Photography.Picture: Janerik Henriksson/TT The regional company Syvab is testing using activated granulated carbon as a final step in a so-called MBR plant, ie a plant with a membrane that filters the wastewater. The test plant is so far only able to filter a smaller amount of wastewater, but will be used on a larger scale when the rebuilding of Himmerfjärdsverket in southern Botkyrka is completed, writes the newspaper Ingenjören. – It is a test facility of almost the entire new facility in miniature size, or miniature may be the wrong word. It can handle wastewater from about 900 people, says Heidi Lemström, deputy process manager at Syvab. A feasibility study from 2018 shows that there were too high levels of several drugs in Himmerfjärden where the wastewater flows out, with a risk of impact on animals and plants. When the technology is used on a larger scale, emissions are estimated to decrease from 300-400 kilos to 4 kilos a year, the newspaper writes. – We will test different treatment targets to be able to get as accurate an estimate as possible of both the economy and the environmental benefits for Himmerfjärden, says Lemström There are already facilities for the separation of drug residues in Linköping and Simrishamn.
