FUNCTION CENTRE CASE STUDY

Background

Zen Oasis Function Centre in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales recently needed a wastewater treatment plant upgrade as part of its major renovations. The treatment plant was required to treat domestic sewage and greywater from its renowned vegetarian restaurant and function centre.

Situated on the fringe of the historic village of Berrima in NSW, the centre is a popular destination for tourists and weddings. Its exotic oriental cuisine is complimented by its rural setting on one-hundred acres. The team at Zen Oasis was conscious of preserving its local environment by ensuring a sustainable wastewater treatment solution as part of its upgrade.

Aerofloat was contracted to design and install the domestic sewage and wastewater system at the site, using its innovative and patented technology to ensure an economical and environmentally-friendly result for Zen Oasis.

The Aerofloat Solution

Aerofloat’s system provided a single treatment option for both the domestic sewage and greywater, allowing for disposal via irrigation to the surrounding land, meeting Zen Oasis’s environmental mantra.

Aerofloat’s design combined the sewage and greywater and used macerator pumps to reduce the size of any larger waste particles. The screened effluent then pumped to a 46,000 litre Sequence Batch Reactor (AeroSBR) tank incorporating Aerofloat’s patented technology.

“The unique design of the AeroSBR means that operators don’t need to shut down the system during routine maintenance. Aerofloat’s patented aeration lances can be removed for cleaning whilst the system is still in operation,” said Michael Anderson, Operations Manager at Aerofloat.

An irrigation pump ensured the treated and disinfected effluent was pumped from treated effluent tank to the new irrigation system. Aerofloat’s wastewater treatment solution was fully integrated with the irrigation system to simplify ongoing operations for the team at Zen Oasis.

The irrigation system covered an area of 3500m2, allowing for the increased flows from the greywater produced.

“The entire system at Zen Oasis, including the irrigation system is PLC controlled and fully automated to ensure that staff can access real-time support from Aerofloat’s engineers in Sydney,” said Anderson.

In addition, Aerofloat’s blending tank takes both bore water and rainwater, aerating it as it runs through the sand filter to remove residual iron before entering the irrigation tank. Ultimately, ensuring a quality effluent suitable for irrigation.

Results

Aerofloat’s system provided a single treatment option for both the domestic sewage and greywater, allowing for disposal via irrigation to the surrounding land. The innovative design caters for peak flows over the weekend period of up to 500 guests, and allows for additional treatment capacity should Zen Oasis expand its business further in the future.

Aerofloat has extensive experience in the biological treatment of wastewater for a vast range of industries including domestic sewage treatment and can offer its AeroSBR design or manufacture conventional SBR systems if more traditional systems are required.

Read article about the Zen Oasis project in Future Water magazine