Granules India Limited
The Challenge
Multiplying Treatment Capacity Without Building New Tanks
Granules' pharmaceutical plant at Genome Valley needed a major increase in wastewater treatment capacity to match production growth — the effluent treatment plant had to move from 50 KLD to 150 KLD and the sewage treatment plant from 20 KLD to 120 KLD. Spans Envirotech was engaged to design the upgrade.
The defining constraint was space: the higher capacity had to be delivered within the existing tank footprint, with no room to add new civil structures. That meant the design had to make more from the assets already on site rather than simply building bigger.
Key Issues:
- !Triple the ETP capacity (50 → 150 KLD) and roughly 6× the STP capacity (20 → 120 KLD)
- !No space for new civil structures — upgrade confined to the existing footprint
- !API/pharma effluent (COD ~2,000 mg/L) plus domestic sewage (BOD ~350 mg/L)
- !Treated sewage to reach reuse quality for gardening and flushing
The Solution
Re-Purposing Existing Structures with an MBBR Conversion
Spans re-engineered the existing plant rather than replacing it. On the STP side, the existing SBR was converted to a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) train — anoxic tank, MBBR aeration, secondary clarifier, pressure sand and activated carbon filters and ultrafiltration for reuse-grade water — while the existing UF feed tank was re-purposed as the secondary clarifier. Much of the existing pump and tank infrastructure was retained.
The ETP upgrade sequences collection, screening, a batch chemical-dosing reactor (acid/alkali, coagulant, flocculant), clarification and treated-water storage, with sludge dewatered by centrifuge before disposal via CETP tanker. Spans' scope covered the process and equipment sizing, basic design calculations and the equipment list/BOQ for both plants — integrating new dosing systems, screens, MBBR media, UF, blowers and instrumentation with the retained existing structures.
Technologies Deployed:
Implementation Timeline:
Design Basis & Capacity Assessment
Established the augmented design basis — ETP 50→150 KLD, STP 20→120 KLD — and audited existing tanks and equipment for re-use potential.
STP Upgrade — SBR to MBBR
Converted the existing SBR to an MBBR train and re-purposed the existing UF feed tank as a secondary clarifier, adding UF for reuse-grade treated water.
ETP Upgrade — Chemical Treatment Train
Sized the collection, screening, batch chemical reactor, clarification and sludge-dewatering line to the higher 150 KLD load.
Equipment List & BOQ
Prepared the equipment schedule and BOQ integrating new dosing, screens, MBBR media, UF and blowers with retained infrastructure.
The Results
Engineering & Design Highlights
50 → 150 KLD
ETP Capacity
Effluent treatment capacity tripled within the existing tank footprint
20 → 120 KLD
STP Capacity
Sewage treatment capacity increased roughly six-fold on the same site
Asset Re-Use
Approach
Existing SBR converted to MBBR and UF feed tank re-purposed as a clarifier
Reuse
Treated Sewage
STP train designed with UF for gardening and flushing reuse
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