Hyderabad: It is mandatory for high-rise apartments with more than 100 flats to set up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) for industrial zones. However, due to a lack of awareness and the exorbitant cost involved in setting up STPs and ETPs, many residential apartment complexes and industrial units tend to avoid the installation of treatment plants.
To address these issues, Hyderabad-based Blue drop Enviro Private Limited is offering cost-effective STPs and Effluent Treatment Plants through its aerated wetlands technology. “The distinction that BlueDrop brings to the market is that our systems are nature-based solutions, which are highly engineered, besides highly effective and economical in terms of life cycle cost as well,” BlueDrop Enviro Private Limited MD and CEO Ganges Reddy said.
In Bhuj, a 24 KLD effluent-cum-STP was set up and it was being operated by a physically challenged auto driver. More importantly, BlueDrop systems bring greenery to the places where they are installed, he said. “Given the colourful flowering saplings planted as part of the systems, it resembles a small garden and not many can identify that treatment plant is at work,” he said.
At a gated community in Mokhila here, the system was set up in 150 sq yards. It was hardly three metres from the balconies and residents did not complain about any foul smell or noise from the system, he added. Unlike conventional treatment plants, which use a few chemicals and are complex in nature, BlueDrop solutions are simpler, easy to operate and economical.
To set up a conventional one MLD plant (10 lakh litres), it costs about Rs 2.5 crore. It excludes operational and maintenance costs and it could be about Rs 50 lakh to Rs 60 lakh a year. On the contrary, BlueDrop systems can cost the same for installation but in terms of operation and maintenance, it costs about Rs 23 lakh, he said.
Considering the life cycle costs for one MLD STP, for a conventional STP after 15 years, the operational and maintenance cost would be about Rs 13 crore and for the BlueDrop Enviro system, it would be about Rs 5.40 crore, he explained. The company has successfully executed 70 projects in 12 States in the country. This year, 35 projects at steel companies, food parks, resorts, dairy plants and apartment and villa communities would be executed, he informed.
What are Forced Bed Aerated Treatment Wetland Systems:
Basically, they rely on the ability to inject small quantities of air in a very uniform pattern throughout the wetland bed. The oxidation process during wastewater treatment is carried out while using only a small fraction of the energy.
Advantages
Low Operation and Maintenance cost, sludge free, simple to operate, no odour and no noise, low energy cost. They can be used for the treatment of lakes and water bodies, municipal wastewater, townships and colonies and hospitals and schools.