The Smith and Loveless FAST system available from CST Wastewater Solutions is being installed across Australia by environmentally-concerned
companies, especially on remote sites for wastewater treatment.
The patented portable wastewater treatment solution
is a plug-and-play system built into standard shipping containers for easy
transport and installation. Operated with minimal engineering and maintenance,
the FAST system is ideal for worksite and population centres, especially in
remote locations.
The modular Fixed Activated Sludge Treatment (FAST)
process is available in individual unit capacities of hundreds of cubic metres
a day, which can be increased through interconnected multiple units. The
environmentally-sensitive system is built to achieve higher loading rates
within a smaller footprint, while the effluent produced can be recycled into
suitable industrial, public facility and commercial processes.
The FAST system achieves nutrient removal for
applications containing high levels of nitrogen, a water pollutant that has
increased significantly in industrial, commercial and municipal applications and
is an environmental concern particularly to resources, engineering,
construction, hospitality, marine, agribusiness, public facility and water and
wastewater infrastructure organisations.
The FAST process involves a fixed-film, aerobic
treatment system designed for tackling variable load and flow conditions. The
system’s tankage is packed with completely submerged media to create a high
surface area-to-volume ratio, which, when combined with internal settling
zones, maintains constant bacterial growth during low-flow and peak usage
periods typical of many remote installations.
CST Wastewater Solutions Managing Director Mr Mike
Bambridge explains that the system, which is proven in thousands of
installations worldwide, has been shown to be highly reliable in Australia because
its stable process withstands hydraulic shock loads and prevents bacterial
washouts.
The FAST system’s simple operation eliminates the
need for daily operator involvement, and also minimises annual plant
maintenance.
CST is the exclusive national distributor for the
FAST system with installations completed for Alcoa, BHP-Billiton, Bechtel
Pacific, Blair Athol Coal, Blue Circle Southern Cement, Cadia Gold, Dampier
Salt and Wakefield Colliery. Installations have also been completed for the
Central Coast Grammar School, CSIRO, Hunter District Water Kiama Municipal
Council, Lakeside Leisure Park and Berowra Waters Marina.
Built into standard 20- or 40-foot shipping
containers or concrete or fibreglass units, FAST arrives at the job site as a complete,
factory-built system or in the form of large components for easy field
assembly. FAST can also be retrofitted into existing aeration tankage to boost
capacity and performance without expanding the plant.
A major FAST project being installed by CST
Wastewater Solutions and scheduled to be completed this year, involves
combination units with total capacities from 100 to more than 300 cubic metres
a day.
Key features and benefits of the FAST system include
modular design and construction; low sludge production; no moving parts, except
for an air blower that provides oxygen while circulating the liquid; minimal maintenance
requirement; and robust and reliable performance.
The FAST system and the complementary Smith and
Loveless Titan MBR (Membrane Biological Reactor) systems are packaged aerobic
wastewater plants that form part of CST Wastewater Solutions’ broad range of
proprietary wastewater treatment equipment. The company is a premier supplier
of innovative wastewater treatment solutions throughout Australia and New
Zealand, with projects also completed in Europe, Asia, Africa and America.