Installation of Wastewater Treatment Facilities
AB Vilkyškių pieninė, in order to save natural water resources and reduce the amount of pollutants entering the environment (BOD7, nitrogen, phosphorus and others), implemented the project “ Installation of Wastewater Treatment Facilities at AB Vilkyškių pieninė” (hereinafter – the project). The purchase of the device (RO polisher) is financed from the program of the Lithuanian Environmental Protection Investment Fund. The value of the project is EUR 294,990.00 without VAT, of which the funds of the Lithuanian Environmental Protection Investment Fund program are EUR 150,007.59. The project is implemented from 08-09-2021 to 26-07-2023.
The RO polisher is a sustainable solution to reduce the consumption of potable water in production and to reduce the amount of wastewater. The water remaining in the whey fractionation process (RO permeate) is of insufficient quality to be used in other stages of technological processes. When applying RO polisher equipment, by means of reverse osmosis, the RO permeate is filtered and the residual dry matter is concentrated, which is returned to the RO concentration line by applying pressure through special filtration membranes with pumps. The purified permeate (water) is passed through the UV system and collected in a tank. This water is suitable for use in various technological steps of whey processing.
When the RO polisher starts working, the natural resource used for washing the company’s cheese production equipment is saved – water is extracted from the well and the company’s wastewater volume is reduced by 30%, as a result of which, after the existing treatment facilities clean the wastewater, an environmental effect is obtained – the amount of pollutants released into the environment is reduced by about 30%. After installing the device, the amount of pollutants (BOD7, total nitrogen and total phosphorus) emitted per year will be reduced by 1.7 t.
After the start of operation of the equipment, monitoring of the environmental protection effect will be carried out, i.e. it will be monitored whether the pollution is reduced to the extent intended.
