And underpinning this success is a focus on sustainability, which is one of the most important drivers for parent company MHP Agro & Industrial Holding, which owns the factory. Right from the “green-field” stage of factory design, the aim has been to produce zero solid waste while also treating all streams of process water to meet state nature-protection regulations.

So much so that while carrying out recent upgrades to the production facilities and product range to achieve ISO22000 and BRC Food Safety certification, MHP decided that modernization of the existing wastewater treatment plant was needed, as the existing facility was unable to accommodate the new capacity levels. As MHP already had a strong partnership with Alfa Laval in other production processes, it was a natural step to develop the collaboration in wastewater treatment.

Membrane bioreactor technology was chosen as the one that would provide the most stable effluent quality as well as full process control. This solution, using Alfa Laval’s MBR membranes, was built by another Alfa Laval partner, Marex Technology, a company that has extensive experience in poultry wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) design. The upgraded WWTP was fully operational on-site in the summer of 2018.  

Today, the membrane bioreactor is treating 3750m³ of wastewater per day. However, the plant has been built to accommodate an overall capacity of 7500m³/day. Now, with a few years’ operational experience of the technology, feedback from the customer is positive.

“After more than two years of operation of Alfa Laval membranes installed in our MBR, we can confirm the ease of operation of that equipment, low maintenance requirements and – what is most important for us – stable high effluent quality,” says Vasily Kudinov, Head of Supply for MHP.