India generates 61,754 million litres of sewage per day and only 22,963 million litres is treated properly. The rest, which constitutes around 62 per cent of the total sewage, gets discharged directly into nearby water bodies, contaminating all sources of water. Though these statistics are from a 2015 environment report, even today, two years later, the situation has not changed much. Several agencies are engaged in an attempt to better the situation with new water treatment technologies.

One of them is Mumbai-based ATE Envirotech that has joined hands with Huber – a German based manufacturer in the field of water, waste water and sludge treatment catering to municipalities and industries – to introduce technologies and equipment for industries and municipal corporations in India.

The joint venture will cover the complete spectrum of waste water treatment. “Our offerings include differentiating technologies for physical separation and removal of impurities, biological degradation of organic pollutants and advanced membrane separation for making waste water as good as fresh water,” says Bhushan Zarapkar, Director Operations of ATE Envirotech.

The company’s aim is to make waste water suitable for recycling, thereby reducing the need for fresh water. It uses three methods to separate pollutants from the water.

The first is a physical method of separation using screens, sieves and filters. The second involves biological degradation of organics using a combination of anaerobic and aerobic treatment.

It uses advanced state-of-the-art biological treatment technologies that can remove colour from textile dyeing waste water, degrade fats from dairy/food and beverage industry waste water or degrade complex organics from pharma and petrochem waste water. It also generates biogas as a by-product.

The third comprises advanced membrane separation technologies, which separate and remove impurities as small as those at a molecular level so as to make the water pure and suitable for reuse. For the industrial segment, the company offers turnkey solutions, whereas for municipal corporations it offers equipment through select OEMs or contractors.

The cost of Industrial projects could range from $0.5 million to about $5 million. Municipal projects would be larger than that.

ATE Envirotech claims that it is entirely different from others in this segment. “Our machines offer higher treatment efficiency, lower energy consumption and rugged design with longer operating life,” says Zarapkar.

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