The development of industry in general, and industrial parks in particular, has created significant environmental challenges in Vietnam, especially in wastewater management.
Investment in a centralized Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is a prerequisite for the operation of an industrial park. However, wastewater treatment infrastructure is often considered a non-revenue-generating asset. Industrial park investors must therefore carefully evaluate and select contractors and treatment technologies that minimize both capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operating expenditure (OPEX), while still ensuring full compliance with applicable environmental regulations.
Recognizing this trend, Koastal Eco has successfully researched and applied ASBR (Advanced Sequencing Batch Reactor) technology, an improved sequencing batch reactor solution for centralized industrial park WWTPs. Compared with the conventional A/O (Anoxic/Oxic) biological treatment process, ASBR offers several significant advantages.
The objective is to transform wastewater treatment facilities from cost centers into profit-generating assets for industrial park investors, through reasonable investment costs and exceptionally low operating costs, as outlined below.
Comparison between conventional A/O and ASBR technologies
| Criteria | Conventional A/O technology | ASBR technology |
|---|---|---|
| Land area | Larger, as a secondary clarifier is required | Approximately 30% smaller, eliminating the secondary clarifier and allowing a higher sludge concentration |
| Capital investment (CAPEX) | Moderate | Lower, thanks to the following advantages: |
| Construction costs | Requires a secondary clarifier | No secondary clarifier required |
| Equipment costs | Requires sludge scrapers in the secondary clarifier and internal/external sludge recirculation pumps | Eliminates sludge scrapers and internal/external sludge recirculation pumps |
| Electricity costs | Higher due to continuous operation of equipment under most operating conditions and a larger number of equipment items | 30–40% lower, as equipment does not need to operate continuously, fewer equipment items are required, and operating hours can be adjusted according to influent flow and wastewater quality |
| Maintenance costs | Moderate | Lower due to fewer equipment items and shorter operating hours |
Key advantages of Koastal Eco’s ASBR technology
In addition to the benefits outlined above, the ASBR technology applied by Koastal Eco offers several distinctive advantages that are not necessarily available with other treatment technologies.
- Well suited to the characteristics of industrial park wastewater. Much of the wastewater generated by industrial parks today has relatively low organic pollutant concentrations. Under these conditions, the concentration of activated sludge maintained in the biological treatment system is relatively low. Through quiescent settling, the ASBR process retains sludge more effectively than conventional activated sludge systems.
- High tolerance to significant variations in loading. The system can accommodate substantial fluctuations in influent loading, helping maintain stable treatment performance.
- A built-in safety margin for influent variations. The system is designed with a safety factor to accommodate influent pollutant concentrations up to 20% above the design threshold.
- High removal efficiency for organic pollutants and nitrogen. ASBR provides effective treatment of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and nitrogen.
- Flexible operation for simultaneous organic matter and nitrogen removal. The ASBR reactor is designed to optimize anoxic, aerobic, and settling phases within a single cycle, enabling the simultaneous treatment of nitrogen, COD, and BOD.
Although ASBR technology has been widely applied in advanced markets around the world, including Europe, the United States, and the Middle East, it remains relatively unfamiliar in Vietnam. This is partly because it is a more advanced technology that emerged after the conventional A/O process.
However, based on the proven performance of numerous industrial park WWTPs implemented by Koastal Eco, ASBR has demonstrated its suitability for industrial wastewater treatment, combining stable treatment performance with very low operating costs. It is well positioned to become one of the leading technology choices for industrial park wastewater treatment in the near future.
The following are representative projects where Koastal Eco has applied ASBR technology, with stable operating performance and low operating costs.
Representative industrial park WWTP projects using ASBR technology
| No. | Industrial park | Contract type | Capacity (m³/day) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minh Phuong Dinh Vu Industrial Park | EPC | 1,000 |
| 2 | Minh Duc Industrial Park – Phase 1 | EPC | 1,250 |
| 3 | Dong An 1 Industrial Park – Phase 3 | EPC | 1,500 |
| 4 | Hoa Mac Industrial Park – Phase 1 | EPC | 1,500 |
| 5 | Ninh Thuy Industrial Park – Phase 1 | EPC | 1,500 |
| 6 | Amata Industrial Park – Phase 4 | EPC | 2,000 |
| 7 | Dinh Vu Industrial Park – Phase 1 | EPC | 2,500 |
| 8 | Ba Thien 2 Industrial Park – Phase 1 | EPC | 2,500 |
| 9 | Pho Noi A Industrial Park – Phase 2 | EPC | 3,000 |
| 10 | Pho Noi A Industrial Park – Phase 1 | EPC | 3,000 |
| 11 | Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park – Module 2, Phase 2 | EPC | 3,000 |
| 12 | Song Tra Industrial Park | EPC | 3,700 (construction) |
| 13 | Khai Quang Industrial Park – Phase 3 | EPC | 4,000 |
| 14 | Amata Industrial Park – Phase 5 | EPC | 5,000 |
| 15 | Dai An Industrial Park Expansion | EPC | 5,000 (construction) |
| 16 | Khai Quang Industrial Park – Phase 1 | EPC | 7,000 |
| 17 | Tam Phuoc Industrial Park – Phase 3 | EPC | 8,000 |