Veolia Water Technologies Italia has been awarded a contract by Italian leader in rice production Riso Scotti to engineer and procure a new wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) for its factory in Pavia, Milan. Demonstrating the company’s engagement towards sustainable solutions, biogas produced during the treatment process will be reused within a circular and integrated production cycle.
With a treatment capacity of 900 m3 /day, the scope of this project, done in “Compliance Industry Plan 4.0”, includes Veolia-patented technologies Biothane® UASB and AnoxKaldnes™ MBBR for the anaerobic and aerobic treatment of wastewater, which will allow reaching up to 90% efficiency in the elimination of organic matter. The treatment line is complemented with an Idraflot™ dissolved air flotation system for a final polishing step of the effluent and an increase in solids removal.
In line with Riso Scotti’s Environmental Sustainability Program, inspired by the circular model, biogas produced during the anaerobic stage will be valorized as energy to be reused within a perfectly integrated production cycle.
This contract is the result of an exhaustive water cycle audit carried out at the factory, concluding with a pilot project that demonstrated the efficiency of the treatment line proposed by Veolia Water Technologies. In fact, the return on investment, which was instrumental in the company having its own WWTP, is estimated at around 400,000 euros per year.
"Riso Scotti's story is a story of continuity linked to tradition and innovation” says Riso Scotti Energy, Safety & Environment Manager Lorenzo Cerri. “Ours is no longer a rice mill, but a real food industry, which uses natural resources and by-products of rice processing to produce those energy carriers, primarily steam, necessary for the processing of rice. The excellence of a company lies in the ability to innovate products but also to innovate processes, so that they are performing, efficient and less impactful.”
Olivier Jenoc, CEO of Veolia Water Technologies for Southern Europe and Germany, said: “We are very proud to have been able, in a short period of time, to put together a customized technological solution based on our standard products and digital services. This project perfectly exemplifies how Veolia can help companies achieve their production goals in a sustainable way.”
