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The pharmaceutical industry today faces growing challenges in complying with wastewater discharge limits. The variety and complexity of production processes, each with its own chemical and biological characteristics, makes identifying the optimal treatment system particularly challenging. Each production cycle generates wastewater with unique characteristics, requiring customized and technologically advanced solutions to ensure effective purification that complies with current regulations.
Furthermore, companies are increasingly committed to finding sustainable solutions, demonstrating a concrete commitment to environmental and social responsibility, including the production cycle they manage on a daily basis.
To efficiently address these challenges, Veolia's water treatment experts developed eXeno™ technology. This innovative solution leverages the AnoxKaldnes™ MBBR (moving bed biofilm reactor) process, which involves the growth of active bacteria (biofilm) on a carrier contained within dedicated reactors.
The versatility of eXeno™ allows for the removal of complex compounds requiring degradation, making it the ideal solution for water treatment in the pharmaceutical industry. Its adaptability makes it ideal for strategic industrial applications, such as:
- Plant optimisation, particularly for the creation of a new one in a small space thanks to its compact configuration;
- Upgrading an existing activated sludge system to effectively remove APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients), ammonia, and nitrogen from wastewater;
- Improving water treatment efficiency, particularly during the post-treatment phase, to increase nitrogen and carbon removal downstream of the biological plants, ensuring compliance with the most stringent discharge limits;
- Recovering process water, ensuring the plant's circular economy by reusing treated water within the production cycle.
Thanks to Veolia's extensive experience in water treatment and the pharmaceutical sector, we can offer a comprehensive and customized approach, including: the possibility of an in-depth assessment of the entire plant system and water cycle, followed by the use of laboratory analyses or pilot plants to ensure the implementation of an efficient treatment system suited to the specific needs of the production site.
The proven effectiveness of eXeno™ technology is also demonstrated by numerous international success stories. Two emblematic examples are the systems built for a multinational pharmaceutical company in Sweden and for JCS "Grindeks" in Latvia. In both cases, the eXeno™ process was developed and designed based on laboratory studies conducted directly on our customers' specific wastewater. This approach has allowed us to create a customized solution, perfectly tailored to the specific characteristics and needs of each client, ensuring optimal results in terms of purification efficiency and operational sustainability.
eXeno™ technology therefore represents not only an advanced technical solution, but a real tool for improving environmental sustainability, capable of combining operational efficiency, regulatory compliance and ecological responsibility.
If you're interested in learning more about how eXeno™ technology improved the performance of two pharmaceutical companies, read our white paper.
