How oxygen treatment was used to deal with wastewater at Benjakitti Park
Pure oxygen, an innovative treatment, will go a long way in dealing with the problem of wastewater in Thailand that has been responsible for foul odour and also generating substantial amounts of carbon dioxide, a business leader said.
Piyabut Charuphen, the managing director of BIG, a leader in industrial gas and greenhouse gas reduction technology, said that the “Generating A Cleaner Future" project is an innovation and technology initiative for water quality management.
It involves the process of enhancing oxygen levels in water to efficiently improve wastewater. Under this process, air is supplemented with pure oxygen using high-efficiency mass transfer technology, and the cost is low.
The first project under the management of BIG was at Benjakitti Park in Bangkok, which receives water from the Khlong Phai Singto Canal. “The oxygen levels in the water here are very low. When oxygen is supplemented to an appropriate level, the water is released into the pond. The water quality suitable for the growth of living organisms must have dissolved oxygen levels of not less than 5 milligrams per litre,” said Piyabut.
The oxygen supplementation system requires the use of liquid oxygen, which has a quality comparable to the oxygen used in hospitals. However, to introduce oxygen into the water, it needs to be converted from liquid to gas and then compressed into the water using a computer to calculate the molecular weight of oxygen, he said.
This ensures the appropriate quantity based on the water quality at that time. Typically, one tank of oxygen can be used for water treatment for one week during dry seasons, but it can last for a month during the rainy season, he added.
The duration depends on the weather conditions during that particular season.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt explained that the water treatment at Benjakitti Park, which receives poor quality water from the Khlong Phai Singto canal, involved more than just separating waste and pollutants.
While the separation process improves water quality to some extent, the use of oxygen is necessary to further enhance water quality, he said.
"This oxygen treatment allows the water to be suitable for watering plants in the park and contributes to a more sustainable urban environment," Chadchart said.
