SNC Research Corp.
SNC-Lavalin is one of the leading engineering and construction
companies in the world. It is involved in facilities and
operations management, ownership, operating and maintenance of
infrastructure. SNC-Lavalin has been active internationally for
nearly 40 years, establishing a network over almost every
continent. It employs over 15,000 people in offices across
Canada and in 30 other countries, and is currently working in
approximately 100 countries.
Environmental Profile
The Corporation is proceeding in the areas of environmental technologies (air and wastewater treatment, site restoration, analysis techniques, removal of metals, treatment of toxic waste and recycling of wastes). Other sectors under development include thermal technologies, and biotechnology. The personnel at SNC Research Corp. have successfully completed several projects involving technological development, evaluation and commercialization, and particularly the scale-up of a reactor for the anaerobic treatment of wastewater, from the laboratory (2 L) to industrial scale (450 m3). We are proceeding with the commercialization of this technology. Recently, this technology has been adapted for the treatment of air in the flexographic industry.
Company Details
Year Established:
1911
Total Sales ($CDN):
$50,000,000 +
Number of Employees:
7000
Company Information
Catherine Mulligan
Title:
Engineer
Telephone:
(514) 866-6635
Fax:
(514) 866-0600
Email:
Click Here
Bechara F. Safi
Title:
President
Telephone:
(514) 866-6635
Fax:
(514) 866-0600
Email:
Click Here
Products
Environmental Products And Services
Multiplate Reactor
The multiplate reactor technology was developed by SNC-LAVALIN.
In 1991, a full scale unit was constructed to remove BOD and COD
at a large dairy plant in Chambord, Quebec (Canada). The reactor
is comprised of a shell, plates, parallel feed entrances and
lateral gas exits. The reactor works in the following manner:
The liquid to be treated enters the reactor by paralled
entrances. The gas formed during the treatment rises through the
biomass and hits the plate. A portion of the gas continues its
ascent to another compartment while the rest of the gas leaves
the reactor by a gas exit situated under the same plate.The gas
that passes through the plate continuously cleans passage points
and displaces all points of the biomass bed. This movement
prevents formation of dead spots and short-circuiting in the
reactor. The reactor has been tested with success at the 450,000
L scale for the anaerobic treatment of cheese dairy wastewater.
It has been pilot tested for treatment of brewery wastewater,
deicing agent, potato processing wastewater and organic solvents.
Bio-voc
A system for the treatment of water soluble VOCs from the
flexography industry has been developed by SNC Research Corp., a
subsidiary of the SNC-LAVALIN Group (Montreal, Canada). The
process is comprised of a water scrubber, a buffer tank and the
SNC-LAVALIN Multiplate Reactor and is as follows. The VOCs are
removed from the contaminated air stream by water scrubbing
before discharging the clean air into the atmosphere. The water
from the scrubber, which contains the VOCs, enters the buffer
tank where biochemical reactions, temperature and pH adjustment
and the addition of nutrients take place. The water is then sent
to the SNC-LAVALIN Multiplate anaerobic reactor. Here, the VOCs
are converted to biogas (which contains greater than 80%
methane) and the liquid effluent which is essentially solvent
free is recycled to the scrubbing unit. A small purge is removed
which is compensated by the addition of a fresh water make-up.
The biogas can be either burned in a flare or used for heating
purposes.
A system for the treatment of VOCs of low water solubility from
the flexography industry has been developed by SNC Research
Corp., a subsidiary of the SNC-LAVALIN Group (Montreal, Canada).
The process is comprised of an activated carbon adsorption
column, a buffer tank and the SNC-LAVALIN Multiplate Reactor
(shown below) and is as follows. The VOCs are removed from the
contaminated air stream by activated carbon adsorption before
discharging the clean air into the atmosphere. The solvents are
desorbed from the activated carbon by steam and condensed for
either recuperation or treatment in the buffer tank where
biochemical reactions, temperature and pH adjustment and the
addition of nutrients take place. The water is then sent to the
SNCwLAVALIN Multiplate anaerobic reactor. Here, the VOCs are
converted to biogas (which contains greater than 80% methane)
and the liquid effluent which is essentially solvent free is
recycled to the buffer tank. A small purge is removed which is
compensated by the addition of a fresh water make-up. The biogas
can be either burned in a flare or used for heating purposes.
A System For The Anaerobic Treatment Of Water Soluble Vocs: Bio-voc.
The process is comprised of a water scrubber, a buffer tank and the SNC-Lavalin Multiplate Reactor. The VOCs are removed from the contaminated air stream by water scrubbing before discharging the clean air into the atmosphere. The water coming from the scrubbing, which contains the VOCs, enters the buffer tank where biochemical reactions, temperature and pH adjustment and the addition of nutrients take place. The water is then sent to the SNC-Lavalin Multiplate anaerobic reactor. Here, the VOCs are converted to biogas (which contains greater than 75% methane) and the liquid effluent which is essentially solvent-free is recycled to the scrubbing unit. A small purge is removed which is compensated by the addition of a fresh water make-up. The biogas can be either burned in a flare or used for heating purposes in the plant. The system has been successfully tested on the site of a flexography plant. For solvents including ethanol, propanol, methanol and iso-propanol, typical removal rates of 94% total removal of solvents by the entire treatment system were achieved. Advantages of the SNC-Lavalin system include low capital and operating costs, possibility of treating other liquid effluents, potential recuperation of the biogas, gentle technology for the environment, low quantities of CO2 generated and air is discharged at ambient temperatures.
A System For The Anaerobic Treatment Of Low Water Soluble Vocs: Bio-voc.
The process is comprised of an activated carbon absorption column for solvents of low water solubility or high volatility, a buffer tank and the SNC-Lavalin Multiplate Reactor and is as follows. The VOCs are removed from the contaminated air stream by water scrubbing or activated carbon absorption before discharging the clean air into the atmosphere. The water coming from the scrubbing, which contains the VOCs, enters the buffer tank where biochemical reactions, temperature and pH adjustment and the addition of nutrients take place. Low solubility solvents are desorbed from the activated carbon by steam and condensed for either recuperation or treatment in the buffer tank. The water is then sent to the SNC-Lavalin Multiplate anaerobic reactor. Here, the VOCs are converted to biogas (which contains greater than 75% methane) and the liquid effluent which is essentially solvent-free is recycled to the scrubbing unit or buffer tank if an absorption column is used. A small purge is removed which is compensated by the addition of a fresh water make-up. The biogas can be either burned in a flare or used for heating purposes in the plant. For solvents including ethanol, propanol, ethyl acetate, methanol and iso-propanol, results were 94% transfer of solvents from the air to the water by the scrubber, 99% conversion of solvents by the anaerobic reactor and 94% total removal of solvents by the entire treatment system. The advantages of the SNC-Lavalin system include low capital and operating costs, possibility of treating other liquid effluents, potential recuperation of the biogas, gentle technology for the environment, potential recuperation of solvents, air is discharged at ambient temperatures and low quantities of CO2 generated.
Snc-lavalin Multiplate Reactor For The Anaerobic Treatment Of Wastewater.
The process is comprised of a buffer tank and the SNC-Lavalin Multiplate Reactor. The wastewater enters the buffer tank where temperature and pH adjustment and the addition of nutrients take place. The water is then sent to the SNC-Lavalin Multiplate anaerobic reactor. Here, the organics are converted to biogas (which contains greater than 75% methane) and the liquid effluent is discharged. The biogas can be either burned in a flare or used for heating purposes. The reactor has been demonstrated at full scale (450m3) for dairy wastewater and a pilot unit is available for testing.
Typical results:
For dairy wastewater, 90% COD removal was achieved for organic loads of up to 45 kg COD/ m3-day. For brewery, potato processing and aircraft deicing wastewaters, results of 90% COD removal rates were typical at organic loads of up to 17 kg COD/m3-day. Advantages of the SNC-Lavalin system include low capital and operating costs, possibility of treating other liquid effluents, potential recuperation of the biogas, gentle technology for the environment, high yields and excellent stability.
Services