The principal objective of wastewater treatment is to dispose of human and industrial effluents without danger or unacceptable impact to human health or the natural environment.

Remote Waste's Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) are designed to treat human and other effluent using a series of treatment processes in order to consistently meet all regulatory requirements for the discharge of effluent into the environment.

We set industry best practices for wastewater treatment design and for effluent treatment levels.

Remote Waste has four sizes of WWTP allowing it to service facilities ranging from rig camps to large work camps.

The following diagram illustrates the basic treatment process employed in Remote's wastewater treatment plants.

Process Overview

The principal treatment process utilized in the treatment process is aerobic digestion - specifically an activated sludge process. Aerobic digestion is a microbial process occurring in the presence of oxygen. Under aerobic conditions, bacteria and other microorganisms rapidly consume the organic matter in the effluent and convert it into carbon dioxide.

In the activated sludge process, dissolved oxygen is supplied, using an air diffuser system, into an aeration tank containing a suspension of wastewater and microorganisms called activated sludge. Microorganisms in the aeration tank use the dissolved oxygen and the organic matter as food to produce more microorganisms. To promote the maintenance and growth of the bacteria, Remote has incorporated proprietary technologies into its aeration system.

The bacteria required to digest the effluent nutrients are naturally occurring in the effluent, however, seed bacteria is often introduced into the system at start-up to promote faster bacterial growth and greater population variety. Remote also uses specialty enzymes and bacteria enhancers to deal with specific effluent constituents.

Following the aeration step, the microorganisms and spent sludge is separated from the liquid by sedimentation in a series of clarifier tanks. This clarified liquid is then further treated using a proprietary filter system.

The final treatment process, prior to effluent discharge, involves disinfection of the discharged wastewater using a variety of technologies.

Depending on the application, disinfected effluent is then pumped through an engineered discharge field which disburses the effluent over a large area. The discharged effluent is generally absorbed in the soil where natural biological processes continue to consume it.

Wastewater Treatment Effectiveness

The effective treatment of wastewater is dependent on three factors as outlined below:

• Technology – Remote Waste has adapted its equipment to address the unique factors involved with remote environments. These factors include extreme (freezing) temperatures, irregular wastewater flows and a need for system simplicity to ensure consistent and trouble free operation.
• Service – Remote Waste conducts regular service and maintenance on all of its units. Our service technicians monitor the effectiveness of the wastewater treatment process to ensure performance is constantly optimized to the specific work camp requirements. Plant performance and effluent quality is monitored routinely.
• Customer Use – What the customer puts down the drain is a key factor in determining the effectiveness of the treatment process. Any contaminants that affect the sustainability of the bacterial population or items which can plug up piping or pumps will disrupt the treatment process. Generally any item that would not be put down the drain in a house or commercial kitchen should not be disposed of in the waste water treatment system. Cleaning products, such as bleach and harsh chemicals have the highest potential to disrupt the treatment process. Remote Waste provides a list of environmentally friendly ("Green") cleaning products to all users of its systems.