Odour Control Project in Qatar

BioAir Solutions (USA), provider of biological odour and emission control solutions, has been selected by Ashghal—the government agency that controls the sewerage network servicing Doha, Qatar—to install a demonstration unit of the company’s innovative new technology for wastewater treatment plant and pumping stations.

Ashghal is responsible for operating more than 150 pumping stations that handle the transport of sewage to the city’s wastewater treatment facilities in the capital city of Doha. Each of these pumping stations is a potential source of odour. Due to the hot weather (up to 55°C in summer) and many kilometers of sewer lines, the H2S and organic odour concentrations at these pumping stations are normally very high (exceeding 500 ppmv H2S). This results in strong sources of odour and related public health concerns.

Currently, most of the pumping stations in Doha use activated carbon to remove odours. Because of the high concentrations of H2S, the carbon is quickly “used up” and must be replaced. This has many negative impacts for Ashghal. Replacing the carbon is both labor intensive and costly for the utility. Proper disposal of the spent carbon is expensive because it cannot be landfilled, and when the carbon in a system has been “used up,” the odour problem immediately returns. This makes maintenance of these systems a laborious and expensive task.

When Ashghal expressed interest in improving all aspects of odour control related to its sewer network in Doha, they turned to BioAir Solutions for assistance. Since the government agency wanted to improve their odour removal performance, reduce operating costs, and minimize impact on the environment, BioAir has offered to supply its patented EcoFilter system, which is a completely “green solution.” A high-performance EcoFilter EF52, which will satisfy all of the goals of the Ashghal agency, is being installed in Doha and will be operational in the spring of 2012.

BioAir’s EcoFilter technology is capable of handling H2S concentrations in excess of 500 ppmv while achieving removal efficiencies of greater than 99.5 percent. This performance will exceed the requirements of Ashghal for its pumping stations. In addition, the BioAir EcoFilter functions continuously without the need to remove or replace the media. Thus, the operating costs are negligible compared to the activated carbon systems. BioAir’s proprietary EcoBase media is at the heart of this technology. EcoBase has been demonstrated to be unsurpassed in its capacity to remove odor with a life expectancy exceeding 10 years.