Economic analysis of the Shear Separation Floatation (SSF) technology for winery wastewater treatment
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Date
2024
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University of the Western Cape
Abstract
Difficulties in the treatment of industrial wastewater have become serious challenges in the water and sanitation sectors. The wine industry is among the industries that are seriously affected by the difficulties of effluent treatment to comply with environmental standards. One of the effective methods to control the winery effluent is to install a customised wastewater treatment plant or upgrade an existing plant for better results. Economic analysis is necessary to evaluate the viability of installing the plant as the method for the treatment of wastewater. This dissertation is centered on an economic analysis of a wastewater treatment plant proposed as a solution to improve the wastewater treatment challenges at Winery X by means of a case study. The case study is based on a Shear Separation Flotation (SSF) pilot plant installed at Winery X. The key arguments in study are built on the conventional Cost-benefits analysis (CBA) as the main method of enquiry. The analysis includes Option 1- keeping the existing system and make no change, Option 2- upgrading the existing system with a flotation device which will recover the treated wastewater quality, and Option 3- upgrading the existing system with a flotation device and a Reverse Osmosis unit. Option 3 is expected to recover the treated wastewater quality and reduce the reliance on freshwater intake by at least 50%. Applying all the input variables, the primary economic analysis was conducted. Then, the sensitivity of the results to the varying values of the key input variables was examined. The initial results for the primary economic measures suggest that Options 1 and 2 are not viable while option 3 is viable. However, the sensitivity analysis suggests that option 2 would be viable after 10 years, provided fines are levied for non-compliance while option 3 would be viable and be profitable in 5 years. Therefore, option 3 is the most practical and preferred solution.
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Keywords
Wine industry, Water effluent, Wastewater treatment, Wastewater treatment plant Economic Analysis, Cost Benefit Analysis