Photo: An Aspex employee is supervising the operation of the company’s freshwater treatment facility
CILEUNGSI – PT Aspex Kumbong is one of the first companies to run an online and continuous quality monitoring system for post-production water (better known as SPARING) in the West Java area.
SPARING continually monitors, records, and reports secondary effluent quality measurement activities within an online network and is directly overseen by the Environment and Forestry Ministry. All measurement results will automatically be uploaded to the ministry’s data center, enabling optimal supervision of post-production water management across Indonesia.
Its use is mandated by the state through Environment and Forestry Ministerial Regulation No. P.93/MENLHK/SETJEN/KUM.1/2018 (on Online, Continuous Treated Effluent Quality Monitoring for Businesses).
“SPARING functions as an online monitoring system. It has sensors to check treated wastewater for quality. These devices, which are running at all times, allow the Environment and Forestry Ministry to read the level of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), pH, and discharge in clarified effluents every second. Our job is to report any inconsistencies with the parameters [aside from measurement results] and update changes in quality,” Aspex’s WWTP Division staff Dedi Rusli explained.
SPARING sensors are installed at the points of discharge of Aspex’s treatment plant, as a part of corporate responsibility to disclose whether or not its post-production water meets quality standards (required by Environment and Forestry Ministerial Regulation 5/2014).
The wastewater has been treated and is now safe for the environment
In a wastewater treatment center, influent sewage must first undergo equalization, which stabilizes its flow. It then moves to sedimentation, which works by separating suspended solids from the liquid in a settling pond.
Afterwards, the water is further refined in the coagulation and flocculation basin to remove remaining dirt. Then, it goes through aeration before entering final sedimentation.
Such a lengthy process ensures the effluent quality is in line with current standards and will not pollute or harm the ecosystem when it is finally released into environmental mediums like rivers.
“Our post-production water quality is within state tolerance limits and, thank God, even far below that. We can say our effluent is very safe to be released into nearby rivers,” Dedi said.
While the safe fluid waste has been disposed of, Aspex’s waste management system does not end here. Mud left throughout the treatment chain is subject to additional processing and then burned in the incinerator, which generates heat for the next production cycle.
Handling industrial waste according to applicable regulations is how PT Aspex Kumbong commits to protecting the environment from damage. Onwards, we will do all we can to support local nature preservation efforts with innovations. (PR)
