With South Africa being a water scarce country, Douglasdale Dairy decided to invest in a water treatment plant, which would allow us to purify and reuse the water we require to wash and sterilise our processing plant.

To treat the water, two holding tanks were built which have the capacity to hold one day’s worth of grey water. A DAF (Dissolved Air Flotation) system was installed. Flocculants and coagulants are introduced into the grey water. This coagulates the fats from the grey water, and tiny bubbles are used to float the fat to the surface. The fat is then skimmed off and discarded in an environmentally friendly manner. The water is then pumped through aggregate, and a series of dams, where aerobic bacteria is introduced to further clean the water. The water then passes through a sand filter, microfiltration, ultra filtration, UV lights and finally a carbon filter to a storage tank.

The laboratory tests the water to see if any impurities are present. When the all clear is given, the purified water is then reused, and the cycle begins again.