Circular Plastics Australia – Laverton, Case Study

Aerofloat has worked on multiple projects with Circular Plastics Australia, including the Laverton North, Altona North and Albury plants, providing effective wastewater and washwater solutions that meet each site’s specific needs.

The Laverton North plant recycles high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) plastics from the Melbourne community and required an effective solution to meet the strict Melbourne wastewater guidelines. More than 20,000 tonnes of the HDPE and PP (the equivalent of over half a billion plastic milk bottles and food tubs) into recycled to create resins that can be used for food, beverage and industrial packaging.

Following the plastics recycling industry boom in Australia with the inception of the National Plastics Plan in 2021, Aerofloat has become the go-to wastewater treatment company for new plastics recycling projects. Aerofloat has designed major wash water and wastewater solutions that meet the specific criteria of multiple companies and councils across the eastern board, including the Circular Plastics Australia major facilities.

Aerofloat has won awards for its innovative design in this area and is now the industry’s go-to wastewater engineering company in Australia.

Aerofloat’s solution for the Laverton North site includes an IPS (inlet pumping station), screening, balance tank, AeroCIRC DAFs, sludge tank, screw press, and effluent tank.

“The plant in Laverton can process two tonnes of HDPE and two tonnes of PP per hour. That means it’s able to process over 20,000 tonnes a year. Aerofloat’s solution manages those flows and ensures compliant effluent discharge to sewer,” said Michael Anderson, GM Engineering and Projects for Aerofloat.

Adam Kornhauser, Site Lead for the Laverton North facility said the plant contributes to creating a circular economy that benefits its local community. Aerofloat worked closely with the Circular Plastics team to ensure collaboration across all facets of the project.

“Circular Plastics Australia has worked with Aerofloat on previous projects,” said Kornhauser. “Aerofloat’s design engineers therefore understood our needs and were able to bring that knowledge from existing plants to ensure a robust design that would meet our requirements.”

Given the space challenges at the Laverton site differed to Albury, Aerofloat utilised its 3D modelling to show how the sites’ specific needs would be met.

“One of the biggest challenges for us was the lack of space for wastewater treatment,” said Anderson. “By drawing on our project history, we are able to model and design the future set-up within 90 per cent of the final design and ensure a small footprint despite the scale of the project.”

All wastewater from the plastics recycling facility is collected in a central inlet pumping station (IPS). Wastewater is pumped from the IPS to the balance tank via the inlet screening system for particle removal. Screened wastewater then gravitates to Aerofloat’s 46m³ capacity polyethylene balance tank fitted with a blower for the blending, cooling and partial flow balancing of the screened wastewater. The purpose is for blending the various wastewater streams, hydraulic balancing, and the automatic adjustment of the pH to the optimal pH level for coagulation of the wastewater.

Wastewater is then treated through Aerofloat’s patented stainless steel AeroCircDAFs for coagulation and flocculation. Aerofloat installed an automated flocculant emulsion make up system, with neat and dilution tanks together with a VSD controlled DAF flocculant pump. Treated effluent from the AeroCirc DAF flows to a 5m³ Effluent Tank.

With significant production volumes at the sites, wastewater flows were expected to be equally high.

“We expect average daily flows of around 400 cubic metres per day at Laverton,” said Kornhauser.

“At the moment, ensuring Circular Plastics Australia meet their recycling volumes is the first priority, however we have set up the plants ready for additional water re-use. That will be something we can address in the future if they want to reduce their water output further.” Said Michael Anderson, General Manager, Aerofloat.

“We offer a competitive chemical supply package to the Laverton North team, and with that comes a high level of support for operators.”

“The entire system is also PLC controlled and fully automated, allowing our engineers to readily have eyes on the site and support the Laverton North team when not onsite.”

Aerofloat’s engineers have continued to work closely with the Laverton North team long after project completion and ensure the site is regularly optimised to meet production growth at the site.