Tertiary treatment systems for pressurised wastewater treatment plants

What are tertiary treatment systems?

Tertiary treatment systems are generally packaged filter systems installed after secondary treatment plants. Theses systems provide additional treatment to wastewater and are an ideal solution for homeowners, engineers and local authorities alike. The multiple benefits include considerably reducing the footprint of traditional percolation areas, as well as the risk of clogged or poorly constructed underground percolation areas.

At Tricel, we offer two types of tertiary treatment systems for pressurised wastewater treatment plants:

1. Tricel Sandcel Sand Polishing Filter which uses layers of certified sands and gravel with a specially designed pipework network to disperse and treat the effluent.
2. Tricel Tero* uses a similar pressurised pipe network over a coconut fibre bed to treat the effluent.

* From the end of 2023, the Tero has replaced the Puraflo Tertiary Treatment plant in the Tricel Product range.

Pumping the effluent to the tertiary systems

Most tertiary systems get positioned raised above the outlet of a packaged wastewater treatment system. In such cases, a pump is required to pump the effluent from the secondary wastewater treatment plant to the tertiary system.

Two options are possible:

1. Integrated packaged systems with a pump for ease of installation (Tricel Novo wastewater treatment plant can come supplied with an integrated pump)
2. Separate the pump chambers following the wastewater treatment plant or septic tank.

Both options are perfectly suitable and will deliver a similar flow.

Importance of the equal distribution of effluent

The Tero system has been designed to accept and evenly distribute the pumped effluent from a packaged wastewater treatment plant. This design incorporates a low-pressure pipe network that is specifically designed and tailored to suit the distance and head from the secondary treatment plant while ensuring the pipe network gets pressurised as per design specifications.

This design prolongs the life of the media and ensures the achievement of the optimum treatment levels of the effluent before discharging from the unit.

Tricel has vast experience of other dispersion system types for additional product applications within the Tricel product range, including tipping buckets and gravity-fed pipe channels. Our testing has found that these options do not operate as effectively when effluent is pumped to them and only work well when receiving gravity-fed effluent.

Therefore, Tricel only offers pressurised network systems for Tertiary products. Pressurised tertiary treatment systems such as the Tero guarantee equal dispersion of the effluent, which allows for better treatment quality of the effluent.

Advantages of Tero tertiary treatment plant

• Reduced footprint required – one module for up to 6PE
• Plug and play: ready to install, supply and fit
• Certified E.coli Treatment capabilities
• Tricel comes and connects all the pipework and commission the unit.
• Quick installation: ½ day to install in most cases
• Factory build
• Independently PIA tested

How does Tero work?

From the end of 2023, the Tricel Tero Tertiary treatment system is available on the market. The Tero is Tricel’s latest product in the Tertiary Treatment family, drawing on 10+ years of experience and development of the successful Tricel Puraflo Module. Using a system similar to that of the Puraflo, effluent from the WWTP is distributed evenly by means of an internal pipework system over coconut fibre filter media. The increased capacity of the Tero results in 1 module servicing up to 6PE, and the improved E.coli treatment capabilities of the filter media reduces soil depth requirements and associated installation ground work and material.
Effluent is distributed directly to the ground by means of 8 outlets located at the base of the module.

Maintenance of Tero

The Tero is designed to last between 5 and 10 years before media refreshment is required. To achieve this, yearly servicing and desludging by a Tricel approved service provided is recommended.

If you have any questions or would like more information about Tertiary Treatment Systems for pressurised wastewater treatment plants, Tricel Tero, or any other wastewater treatment systems, get in touch with us.