Veolia Water Technologies supports ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, and other biofuel manufacturers with innovative water, wastewater, chemical and evaporation technologies.
Environment and profitability: challenges faced by the biofuel production
Fighting against greenhouse gas emissions.
Producing alternatives to the use of fossil fuels.
Complying with environmental regulations.
Optimizing sustainable profitability.
Ensuring industrial process safety.
How Veolia is committed to helping biofuel producers
Our technical solutions, know-how and focus on water cycle, sustainability and overall environmental footprint can help the biofuel industry in its efforts to optimize the environmental and economical benefits of biofuel production and use.
At Veolia Water Technologies we are Resourcers and have developed solutions and expertise to help you meet your environmental and sustainability goals. As a leader in technological innovation for sustainable development, we have a keen understanding of the process for producing biofuels and their link with water, waste and energy.
We are experienced in supporting various biofuel sectors such as:
- Ethanol
- Renewable diesel
- Biodiesel
- Biogas production
Our portfolio of technologies includes solutions to help you optimize and de-risk your water cycle:
- Optimize your freshwater abstraction and process water production via state-of-the-art, high-recovery and/or reuse options.
- Minimize your water footprint.
- Minimize and treat/manage your residues.
- Provide you with cost-effective and complete water treatment systems.
Adaptable solutions for all biofuel players
Biofuel production is a growing market to help offset the demand of fossil fuels and improve environmental sustainability. Our researchers and engineers are experienced in the various stages of biofuel production and in developing and implementing technologies that help producers manage their water and wastewater needs.
From raw water treatment, cooling tower systems, makeup water and blowdown treatment systems to wastewater treatment, as well as comprehensive evaporation processes, water network maintenance, spent caustic treatments and sludge treatment, we have aligned our products and services to meet the demands of your industry. We also offer efficient processes for isolating and harvesting usable by-products such as greases, which can be transformed into fuels to create value while treating wastewater.
We will help to decrease the amount of pollution generated by effluents and bring treatment practices into line with regulations.
Process and utility water
Veolia Water Technologies can help improve the quality of a plant’s incoming water (process and utility water) through a number of different approaches. We help tailor the quality of a plant's make-up water quality through the use of Veolia’s standardized equipment, using various ion exchange, filtration and membrane technologies. Veolia Water Technologies also produces clarified water by pretreatment, via the Actiflo® process.
We also produce purified water, demineralized water and osmosis water for the creation and supply of boilers and cooling towers. Our technologies below are used to help improve utility equipment performance and a plant’s water footprint:
- Sirion™, reverse osmosis and high-recovery RO.
- Filtraflo™, a complete range of modular and flexible skid-mounted media pressure filters.
- Rapid Strata™, high-purity industrial deionizers.
Evaporation process technologies
Veolia Water Technologies is also a leader in evaporation technologies. Our high performance HPD Evaporation & Crystallization technology concentrates feedstocks by up to 50% and reduces energy requirements for the drying stages. We also provide smaller, standardized evaporators through our Evaled™ specialized product line.
Hydrex® antiscalant and anti-fouling chemistries can improve heat transfer efficiency and total system performance. Just as important, these chemistries protect equipment from corrosion to maximize the lifespan of the various internal components.
In an increasingly competitive sector, Veolia Water Technologies can also offer our bioethanol industrial partners innovative solutions to facilitate the operation of ethanol evaporation plants.
Wastewater
Our proprietary technologies are specifically designed to remove BOD (biological oxygen demand) / COD (chemical oxygen demand), TSS (total suspended solids), oils, nutrients, and other contaminants that are commonly found in the wastewater stream. Our technologies can also take advantage of biofuel opportunities by isolating and harvesting usable greases to transform them into fuel, for instance. This allows us to create value while treating wastewater.
- Biothane® anaerobic technologies are designed to treat wastewater, converting pollutants into biogas.
- Sulfothane™ is used to remove sulfur from biogas produced by anaerobic digestion systems to very low levels.
- MemGas™ is another biogas purification technology that is able to remove carbon dioxide and other contaminants to create a methane quality that is acceptable for pipeline-injection or other final uses.
- Biomet™ is a pragmatic modular approach designed specifically for the treatment or co-digestion of sewage wastewater sludge, agricultural by-products, organic waste and biomass. It extracts the maximum energy from waste in the form of biogas to subsequently electricity and heat, with maximum stability and control of operation.
- AnoxKaldnesⓇ Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) is an aerobic biological process where biofilm grows on carriers suspended in wastewater. The system removes pollutants in a cost-efficient way and is used across almost all sectors of municipal and industrial markets.
- Biosep® / Neosep™ biologically treats wastewater effluents by removing organic contaminants and creating a high-quality effluent from industries and public authorities. This innovative solution combines membrane processes for water treatment and activated sludge treatments.
Product Recovery
Struvia™ technology has been developed by Veolia Water Technologies to facilitate the recovery, valorization and reuse of phosphorus contained in wastewater and in concentrated industrial water.
Veolia Water Technologies has developed TiPSS™ standardized solutions addressed for oily water separation. The API gravity separator can be customized in a short time to answer our client's specifications. 80% to 90% of the oil will be separated through gravity separation. After de-watering and some basic treatment steps, the skimmed oil can be reused to make biodiesel, soap or animal feed - a real source of valorization.
These technologies are a key part of our sustainable development expertise. The circular economy is a pillar of our business, thanks to our proprietary water technologies.
Biofuel producers that trust Veolia
When an ethanol plant in northern Indiana, USA, experienced microbiologically-based fouling in their 28,000 gallon per minute cooling tower system, they turned to Veolia’s Hydrex chemical solutions to efficiently fix the issue.
Discover our water treatment technologies for the biofuels industry
Biofuel companies face unique water challenges caused by variations between feedstocks, substrates, or specialized production methods. We understand these issues and can help you meet your regulatory, sustainability, and production objectives.
Timur Dunaev
Technical Manager
Veolia Water Technologies
Contact Timur through his LinkedIn account
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More services for our biofuels clients
FAQ about water solutions for biofuels production
What is a common challenge in the treatment of wastewater at biofuel facilities?
The biggest challenge when treating wastewater at a biofuel facility is being able to handle the large fluctuations related to the flows and characteristics of the wastewater. These fluctuations are most commonly caused by varying feedstocks and production seasonality. It's important to install a wastewater treatment facility that can be flexible to handle these variations, while still being easy to operate.
What are some of the main causes for scaling within the evaporators at a biofuel facility?
The presence of calcium oxalate and other hard scales in evaporators and heat exchangers can require excessive acid use and frequent, costly maintenance for cleaning. To minimize the overall cost of operations and increase both system reliability and efficiency, chemical dosing using Veolia’s Hydrex® additives, which include a proprietary blend of inhibitors and dispersants, will help prevent mineral scaling and reduce organic fouling. Additionally, it can prevent the use of dangerous acids used to remove scaling and improve overall system efficiency.
What are the most typical water reuse applications at biofuel production facilities?
Depending on the quality of the wastewater effluent, it may be able to be treated further using membrane filtration technologies. However, one of the most cost-effective reuse opportunities at a biofuel facility is to reclaim and treat evaporator condensate or cooling tower water. After removing impurities from this water, it may be able to be reused in the utility water loop. This will result in a reduction of a facility’s total water footprint and reduce the flow of water to the wastewater treatment plant.