Water and wastewater treatment specialist VWS Envig has announced the completion of a water treatment upgrade project for the Coca Cola Fortune bottling plant, in Nelspruit, in Mpumalanga.

The project, awarded through tender, was commissioned in October and included the revamp and automation of the existing plant.

VWS Envig engineering manager John Heffill, comments that the plant uses a municipal water source, treats the raw water according to specifications, and uses it as process water.

He adds, "The customer's requirements when awarding the project were to modernise the plant and automate the process as far as possible. This led to a plant that reduces water consumption and chemical dosing, operates more efficiently and is more user friendly".

The existing plant was manually operated and consisted of chemical dosing, clarifier, sand filtration and carbon filtration units and a polishing filter.

VWS Envig reworked the chemical dosing and clarification units by employing an ergonomic design and layout to ensure efficiency and safety. The company cleaned and supplied automated valves for the filtration units and added a backwash recovery system, which feeds water into the cooling towers.

"There was an existing backwash recovery system which we completely overhauled by removing the vessels, sand blasting and returning them. The filters were relined on site owing to time constraints," says Heffill.

VWS Envig also supplied an additional pump as well as all process instrumentation, controls, and cables. Training was supplied to operators during commissioning.

Heffill notes that the client's requirements were met and the refurbished plant yields many benefits. "The backwash recovery system allows the client to save water and on water costs as the recovered water is used in the cooling towers. The old plant used municipal water for this operation. The automation aspect of the project ensures that the plant runs smoothly and efficiently. While operators are still necessary, the labour is reduced and operators play more of a supervisory role in the plant".

He adds that the project was completed on a tight schedule, as the client required the plant to be commissioned to coincide with the end of the bottling plant shut down.

"This presented a challenge in that we had to physically dismantle a lot of the existing equipment in order for us to complete the refurbishment. We completed the project on time, and even went as far as supplying a temporary water source to the bottling plant in the midst of the revamp," concludes Heffill.

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