Veas is Norway’s largest wastewater treatment plant. It handles the effluent from the equivalent of 800,000 persons daily in the western metropolitan area around Oslo. A core value of the company is to optimize the reduction of harmful substances found in sewage water and utilize its energy and nutrient potential into valuable products for society. In this respect, the microalgae cultivation within the ALGECO project may improve both topics in focus. However, careful assessments of the performance of the project concept need to be done to answer its feasibility for a full-scale investment and operation. In practice, we want to get clear answers to how the microalgae cultivation concept will perform against future targets for water quality and the energy potential as biomethane and contribution to increased nutrient concentration in the bioresiduals from the resulting microalgae biomass. In the former assessments, the water analyses are a crucial part of the evaluation. Thus, we would like to provide some insight into how we do this in practice in the project.
At the pilot facility in Solbergstrand, NIVA personnel conduct the microalgae cultivation with utmost care. Water samples are collected at various stages of the cycle, from the initial crude treated wastewater to the point where all nutrients are fully depleted. To meet the rigorous standards for water analyses, the water samples undergo a meticulous process of filtration and pH adjustment before being frozen for conservation. The full set of water samples for the analyses of a microalgae cultivation season and the different parameters that are assessed contain up to several hundreds of frozen water tubes and bottles. At the end of a cultivation season, all the water samples are meticulously transported to Veas. Here, they are registered and sorted into different analysis categories to align with the daily lab program. This careful process ensures the integrity of the upcoming results, as depicted in the image below.
In this manner, the water analyses from the microalgae cultivation can be incorporated into the busy schedule of the plant's regular analysis. However, as the water samples are outside the range of the familiar wastewater treatment, the sample preparation needs to be adjusted. This allows for the fulfilment of analytical accredited methods.
The lab operators are a crucial part of the water analyses. Do you want to meet them? Check this site for our next website update in two weeks!
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