Crush and Oil Refining Facility in Newcastle cuts water usage

By Matthew Trewin

The upgrading of a waste water treatment plant at Cargill’s crush and refinery facility in Newcastle, New South Wales, has coincided with a crippling drought and the introduction of water restrictions in Newcastle for the first time in 25 years. 

The waste water treatment plant upgrade means that a portion of the treated water can now be recycled and utilised in biofilter odour scrubbing equipment. The recycling saves the Newcastle facility approximately 50,000 litres of potable water every day. The Newcastle facility produces canola oil and meal from canola grown in Australia. The product is sold in domestic markets as well as important overseas markets such as China and New Zealand. 

Crush and Refinery Operations Lead, Nick Ebrill said the upgrade started earlier in the year and that the upgrade is part of an EPA Pollution Reduction Project (PRP) that is being undertaken to reduce irrigated treated water pooling onsite. Waste water was previously irrigated on site, but through the new treatment plant, a portion of it can be reused. 

Nick said the facility uses potable water primarily in the boiler to create steam for heating; water is also used in cooling towers and in wet scrubbing processes. He said the new initiative was not only better for the environment, but will reduce potable water costs for the business. 

“It was great to work with a local New South Wales firm, Hydroflux, to deliver this project tapping into their local expertise.” 

Nick said further water projects were currently underway to further improve the facility’s performance in managing water as a precious resource. A reverse osmosis water treatment facility is currently being commissioned which is estimated to save an additional 10-15,000 litres per day and approximately 5,500 GJ of gas energy per year (approximately $AU 80,000 per year). The reverse osmosis treatment plant purifies the water used in the plant’s boiler. This means the water cycles in the boiler can be increased.

 

Cargill's DAF unit - dissolved air flotation unit)