PETRO wastewater system to be commercialised worldwide
April 2001
System Integration & Control Systems Design
Amandla International, the environmental and technology solutions group, recently announced that it has added the South African-developed PETRO wastewater purification system to its portfolio. The PETRO (Pond Enhanced TReatment and Operation) process was co-patented by PGJ Meiring of the Pretoria-based firm of consulting engineers, Meiring, Turner & Hoffman and the South African Water Research Commission (WRC). The Water Research Commission sponsored the research for the process which was undertaken by PGJ Meiring and Dr Oleg Shipin, also of Meiring, Turner and Hoffmann.
Christopher Maloney, CEO of Amandla International and P.J.G. Meiring of Meiring, Turner and Hoffmann, concluding the contract to commercialise the PETRO wastewater system worldwide
According to Mr Christopher Maloney, CEO of Amandla International, the potential market for PETRO systems is enormous in South American, Asian and African countries - relative latecomers to investing in water treatment. Even in first world countries the low costs associated with utilising the system in phased developments and for retrofitting make it an attractive and realistic option.
Maloney added that the South African technology embodied in the PETRO process was remarkable - and that Amandla International aimed to market the system worldwide.
Meiring, developer of the PETRO process and a well-known researcher in the field of low-cost wastewater purification, explained that it is a wastewater purification system designed specifically for use in developing countries, which do not have the resources to construct conventional water purification plants. It delivers an exceptionally high quality effluent with potential capital and operating cost savings of up to 40%.
There are currently 14 PETRO systems being operated commercially within the borders of South Africa. The PETRO system has huge potential for application by South African municipalities, which are cash-strapped, but at the same time have a very real need to either increase or double capacity at existing wastewater plants.
While the system is relatively unsophisticated by modern standards, its performance matches that of far more expensive systems with the advantage that it is suitable for both developed and developing communities. PETRO makes use of an integrated pond system. Its primary stage employs stabilisation ponds and this is backed up by a seemingly conventional secondary stage using an activated sludge reactor or trickling filters.
The processes are set up to work together, each depending on the other, and represent a unique example of synergistic interaction. Key to the process is effluent recirculation. The system is suitable for phased development and retrofitting, is odour-free and both environmentally and aesthetically friendly.
Amandla Environmental
(011) 658 1402
[email protected]
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