Service
Physical-Chemical Treatment Systems
Coagulation, flocculation, precipitation, and adsorption for heavy metals, phosphorus, and emerging contaminant removal.
🤖 AI Overview
Physical-chemical treatment is essential for removing dissolved contaminants that biological processes cannot address. BioTerraVa designs coagulation-flocculation, chemical precipitation, and adsorption systems for heavy metals, phosphorus, colour, and emerging contaminants including PFAS and microplastics.
The Problem
When Biology Isn't Enough
Many industrial contaminants are resistant to biological degradation or toxic to microorganisms. Heavy metals, phosphorus, colour, and emerging contaminants require physical-chemical treatment approaches that complement biological systems.
- Heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, Pb) that poison biological systems
- Phosphorus limits as low as 0.1 mg/L in Great Lakes basin
- Colour and recalcitrant organics from textile and dye operations
- PFAS and other emerging contaminants not biodegradable
- Oil and grease that smother biofilm and clog equipment
The BioTerraVa Solution
Integrated Physical-Chemical Design
BioTerraVa designs physical-chemical treatment as an integrated component of the overall treatment train. We select reagents, optimize dosing, and design solids separation to achieve target effluent quality at minimum operating cost.
- Coagulation-flocculation with alum, ferric chloride, or PAC for TSS and phosphorus
- Chemical precipitation with lime, caustic, or sulfide for heavy metals
- Activated carbon adsorption for organics, colour, and emerging contaminants
- DAF or clarifier solids separation with optimized sludge handling
- Automated chemical dosing with online analyzers and feed-forward control
Technologies
Technologies We Deploy
Coagulation-Flocculation
Rapid mixing and flocculation for particle aggregation.
Chemical Precipitation
Hydroxide, sulfide, or carbonate precipitation for metals.
Activated Carbon
PAC or GAC adsorption for organics and micropollutants.
DAF/Clarifiers
Solids separation with optimized sludge removal.
Results
Physical-Chemical Treatment Results
>95%
Metals removal
<0.1
mg/L phosphorus
99%
Colour removal
40%
Chemical cost savings
BioTerraVa physical-chemical systems consistently achieve >95% heavy metals removal, <0.1 mg/L phosphorus, and >99% colour removal while minimizing chemical costs through optimized dosing and reagent selection.
See How We Solved This for a Metal Finishing Facility
Download the full case study or speak with a senior engineer.
Related Resources
Industries Served
Technologies
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How to remove heavy metals from wastewater?
Heavy metals are removed through chemical precipitation as hydroxides (using lime or caustic soda at pH 8-10), sulfides (using sodium sulfide for metals that don't precipitate well as hydroxides), or carbonates. After precipitation, solids are separated by clarification or DAF. BioTerraVa's proprietary mineral media provides additional metals capture as a polishing step, achieving >95% removal for Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, and Pb.
What chemicals are used in wastewater treatment?
Common chemicals in wastewater treatment include: coagulants (alum, ferric chloride, polyaluminum chloride), flocculants (polymers), pH adjusters (caustic soda, sulfuric acid, lime), disinfectants (chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, UV), nutrients (urea, phosphoric acid for biological systems), and specialized reagents (sodium sulfide for metals, activated carbon for organics). BioTerraVa optimizes chemical selection to minimize cost and sludge production.
How to remove phosphorus from wastewater?
Phosphorus is removed biologically (enhanced biological phosphorus removal, EBPR) or chemically. Chemical phosphorus removal uses metal salts (ferric chloride or alum) that precipitate phosphate as metal phosphates. For very low limits (<0.1 mg/L), a two-stage approach is used: biological removal to 0.5-1.0 mg/L followed by chemical polishing with alum or ferric. BioTerraVa also offers struvite recovery, which turns phosphorus disposal into a revenue stream.
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