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Introduction

India’s sewage is a goldmine which it is failing to tap, worth ₹12,000 crore a year. There are millions of liters of wastewater produced on a daily basis from industry and household, most of which is then thrown away without a second thought. But contemporary technologies are transforming WWTPs into resource recovery facilities, providing enormous potential for energy and nutrient recovery.

Amalgam Biotech’s much in-demand platform leading this change. Through a process known as precision resource mining, the platform enables wastewater treatment plants to recover high-value resources such as biogas, struvite (a phosphorus-rich mineral) and precious metals. This is not just environmentally beneficial, but can also become a profitable venture if the waste water treatment plants are converted to have a revenue-generating capacity. Let’s find out how Amalgam Biotech’s frontier technologies unlocking the value in India’s wastewater.

High-Yield Recovery Technologies

The company platform incorporates various state-of-the-art recovery technologies to produce valuable energy and nutrients from wastewater. These are technologies to achieve maximum recovery efficiency, getting the most out of every drop of water that gets treated.

Energy Harvesting Suite

TurboDigest™ is a thermophilic anaerobic digester built to accelerate the breakdown of organic waste in water. By working the process at higher temperatures, it speeds up the microbial digestion, which results in up to 70% more biogas than traditional systems. This biogas can be turned into a clean power source that can service local grids or even industry.

In order to maximize energy recovery, Amalgam Biotech operates BioCNG Purification plants. These membrane systems purify the biogas to 95 per cent purity, converting it into ‘compressed natural gas’ (CNG) for use as vehicle fuel or for industrial processes, turning wastewater treatment plants in to self-sustaining or profit-making – operations.

Waste Heat Recapture is one more innovation in the realm of energy recycling. The heat generated from the wastewater treatment process is converted into electricity using Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) generators. This reduces the total energy requirement of the plant and makes the operation more sustainable.

Nutrient Mining Systems

CrystalPhos™ is a fluid bed reactor recovering > 98% pure struvite from wastewater. Struvite is a fertile mineral, full of nutrients and can be used as a fertiliser. The recovered struvite can substitute up to 40% imported fertilizer and reduce India’s dependence on costly imports, contributing towards the sustainable farming practices.

They also support the development of Algal Protein Farms by using nutrient rich effluent from waste water treatment. The system raises and harvests algae (specifically, spirulina and other algae) that can be used as food supplements or animal feed because they are not only palatable but rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. In this way, Amalgam Biotech builds a circular economy, processing wastewater not only for treatment, but for resource recovery.

Biochar Production is another promising technology, a process by which the treated sludge is pyrolyzed in Carbon-negative fertilizers. Biochar, a soil amendment that improves soil conditions while trapping carbon, can be made from wood chips.

Emerging Innovations in Resource Recovery

In addition to legacy energy and nutrient recovery, Amalgam Biotech is a pioneer of cutting edge, high value extraction from wastewater.

Electrodialysis for Lithium Extraction

The company produces volumes of waste water that contain small amounts of precious metals, such as lithium, from the electronics industry. Amalgam Biotech is the first company to apply electrodialysis in extracting lithium from electronics industry effluent. Lithium is an important ingredient in batteries and its extraction has economic value at ₹8,000/ kg. The process is revolutionary in the reclaiming of valuable resources and the reducing the environmental hazards of electronic waste.

Volatile Fatty Acid Platform

Volatile Fatty Acid Platform by Amalgam Biotech Tackling organic acids from wastewater and converting them to biodegradable plastics. This platform significantly lessens the need for fossil fuels by upcycling waste into sustainable products and supports moving the world to a circular economy. These are fully biodegradable plastics which provide a greener option to traditional petroleum-based plastics.

AI-Graded Byproducts

By-product grading using AI Amalgam is using AI algorithms in Byproduct grading to achieve the best possible quality and best premium price for recovered resources. The system also utilizes live data to grade the ‘quality’ of recovered products, like struvite or biochar, and help to prevent substandard product making it to market. It is in this process that the material recovery cost is reduced and makes wastewater treatment a profitable business.

Emerging Directions in Reuse and Recovery of Wastewater

The resource recovery world is changing fast and there are some trends that seem destined to have a profound impact on wastewater treatment in India.

Resource Recovery Mandates

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is slated to come out with resource recovery orders for wastewater treatment plant as India is trying achieve the sustainability goals. These regulations will require WWTPs to achieve the minimum levels of energy and nutrient recover, and will drive adoption for disruptive technologies like Amalgam Biotech’s product. Resource recovery is going to be a game changer for our industry.

Industrial Symbiosis Parks

India is also emerging as a hub for the development of “Industrial Symbiosis Parks” in which factories located near each other cooperate in the use of water, energy and chemicals. By businesses seeing the good in waste, these parks can help develop full closed-loop systems, reducing waste and raising the reuse of materials. Wastewater treatment facilities in such industrial parks are vital to deliver recovery and re-use of valuable resources to assist the trimean in minimising their environmental footprint and remaining profitable.

Bioproduct E-Marketplaces

Bioproducts E-Marketplaces will enable expanding the trading of recovered resources. Resource salesIntroducing B2B platforms for the sale of resources (recovered nutrients, biofuels, bioplastics, etc.) would create new revenue streams for WWTPs. These markets will offer an effective and efficient means for industries to purchase and sell recovered materials, so that material is cycled as a part of the economy.

Conclusion

India’s wastewater is a veritable goldmine of unexplored benefits, resulting in a massive potential for energy and nutrient recovery. With other technologies, Amalgam Biotech is turning wastewater treatment plants into profit centers; each drop of water treated in the plant becomes a new source of value. From biogas and struvite to rare metals and biodegradable plastics, the future is bright.

Through the pioneering efforts of Amalgam Biotech, their futuristic solutions are enabling India to fully realize the potential of its wastewater, which is helping drive sustainable solutions, lower their environmental impact, and underpin economic progress. Wastewater is being transformed from a waste product into a valuable resource that can run homes, fertilize fields and help the circular economy.

To learn more about how Amalgam is reimagining wastewater treatment and resource recovery, visit Amalgam Biotech now.