Unilever Bestfoods required a system to handle fats in effluent at its factory at Crumlin in South Wales. 

Puriflo designed a complete effluent treatment system in consultation with the Unilever Bestfoods site management. The system includes flow balancing, fat entrapment and removal, chemical coagulation and flocculation, pH control, dissolved air flotation (DAF), flow monitoring and sludge collection and removal.

The system allowed Unilever Bestfoods to divert effluent with a heavy fat content away from the main effluent flow to a collection system for removal off-site. The main effluent stream is then balanced and treated with coagulant and flocculent, the pH is corrected and the effluent separated (liquid from solid) in the DAF unit prior to passing through a flow monitoring and sampling system to public sewer. The sludge from the DAF unit is collected in a purpose-designed sludge collection and de-watering vessel prior to removal from site.

The Puriflo team then installed and commissioned the system on time, which is fully automated and operates using a PLC controller.

The outcome is that common problems associated with fats in pipelines have been eliminated, consent conditions are complied with and trade effluent charges are reduced.