Hydrogas (Thailand) Co., Ltd. wishes to expand its carbon dioxide (CO2) applications into wastewater treatment and, in longer terms, offer other gases and chemicals for environmental management in Thailand.
Hydrogas’ core business in Thailand currently is installation of CO2 freezing lines and supply of CO2 in liquid and solid (dry ice) forms for cryogenic (very low temperatures) freezing, especially for the food industry.
“Our Norwegian parent firm, Norsk Hydro ASA, grew from a fertilizer producer into a global industrial group. We have learnt and developed the use of CO2, a by-product from our huge fertilizer production, in many applications,” says Mr. Piya Techakul, managing director of Hydrogas Thailand.
“Among other Hydro’s successful development of CO2 applications, our pH (acidity/alkalinity) control concept using liquid CO2 has become a well proven technology in Europe and a better alternative to mineral acids.”
A pH out of standard will cause lots of severe problems like malfunction of downstream biological or chemical processes, corrosion and risk of collapse of downstream sewers.
The pH decreases gradually with increasing CO2 dose, Mr. Piya explains, and it becomes stable because of the enhanced buffer capacity achieved by the weak acid. This is very different from what is achieved by strong mineral acids like hydrochloric and sulphuric acid.
“This water treatment solution is suitable for textile mills, pulp and paper factories, tanneries, breweries, soft drink producers, and dairies,” he adds.
Hydro also looks at possibilities for other environmental management products such as Nutriox and Reduktan.
Nutriox septicity control is a natural biological method of preventing septicity and removing hydrogen sulphide in wastewater by controlled dosage of nitrate, which would eliminate or reduce bad odours and health hazards.
According to Mr. Piya, Nutriox clients in Europe are mainly municipalities facing with polluted waters. With application of Nutriox, residents’ complaints about bad odour are eliminated.
Another product Reduktan may help an economy grow faster, Mr. Piya suggests.
“In environmentally-concerned industrial sites, production can be suppressed by ceiling limit of nitrous oxide emission. If we can reduce the emission per unit, it may be possible to maximize the existing capacity or even look at expansion,” he elaborates.
“Bringing in Nutriox and Reduktan may not happen very soon, but at least we want to bring awareness that we have proven expertise in the field of environment protection, which can be very beneficial to the Thai society and industries,” Mr. Piya remarks.
“I want to tell Thai people that we don’t have to simply admit that wastewater usually smells bad now that there are corrective ways available.”
