Together with Vyborg Water Utility, Kemira Oyj, the Finnish Ministry of the Environment and the John Nurminen Foundation have launched a project to reduce the amount of phosphorus discharged from Vyborg into the Baltic Sea.
The Vyborg wastewater treatment plant commenced trial runs of waste water phosphorus removal at the end of September. The aim of the trial runs is to prove that, by using chemical precipitation for phosphorus removal, the Vyborg wastewater treatment plant can achieve the recommended concentration of total phosphorus in wastewater, as specified by the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission. This will result in an annual reduction of approximately 20 tonnes of phosphorus that ends in the Gulf of Finland.
The John Nurminen Foundation has supplied the Vyborg wastewater treatment plant with storage and precipitant dosing equipment. Meanwhile, the Finnish Ministry of the Environment is supporting the technical implementation of the trial run, conducted by Kemira in cooperation with Vyborg Water Utility. Kemira has provided the expertise for the project. From its St. Petersburg plant, it will also supply the coagulants required for the trial runs.
The tests will continue for six months. Based on the results of the trial run, the Vyborg Water Utility and the John Nurminen Foundation intend to construct a permanent phosphorus removal system at the wastewater treatment plant by 2012.