Coldep revolutionizes wastewater treatment thanks to… compressed air
After more than ten years of research, the Coldep company has developed an efficient water treatment system by injecting micro bubbles of compressed air into a vacuum column. Its concept is beginning to be adopted in the agri-food industry, particularly in aquaculture.
Precious sense of timing. While the water resource is the subject of all attention, the solution developed by two French engineers comes at the right time. The innovation of their company, Coldep, consists of passing the treated water through a vertical column of several meters, where micro bubbles of compressed air will be injected (a process known as “airlift”). These fine bubbles help drive the flow upwards and drain gases, microparticles or other liquids that saturate the water during the industrial process. All these undesirables rise to the surface and form a scum which can be recovered, while the treated water follows the opposite path. The entire process is carried out under vacuum, to improve its efficiency.
Performances on point
The idea behind this project is also to change the approach to water treatment by focusing on small units adjacent to consumer sites, rather than on large wastewater treatment plants downstream. On its brochure, Coldep prides itself on exceptional results: energy consumption much lower than competing solutions (< 0.03 kWh / m3 of treated water), water loss less than 1% at the end of the operation, an absence of chemicals… for performance “five times greater than current systems”, says the company.
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