Clean TeQ Water Delivers Phosphate Removal Plant in Europe

Clean TeQ Water has completed commissioning and contractual performance testing for its first full-scale commercial PHOSPHIX phosphate removal plant in Ireland. Delivered in partnership with Enva, the milestone marks the commercial deployment of the technology following laboratory development, pilot testing, and engineering phases, establishing Clean TeQ Water's first operating PHOSPHIX reference plant and its initial commercial reference installation in Europe.

Industrial Wastewater Treatment and Testing Parameters
The project was designed to remove phosphate from industrial wastewater generated by Enva’s end-user, a multinational pharmaceutical manufacturer, ahead of European discharge regulations. The performance demonstration was completed following a continuous ten-day operating test during June 2026, which was extended by mutual agreement from an initial five-day test period to accommodate variations in feedwater flow and composition.

Independent laboratory testing confirmed treated phosphate concentrations below 0.1 mg/L P-PO₄, exceeding the contractual target of 1.0 mg/L by more than tenfold. Online analysers matched the independent laboratory testing results. The plant met all specified water quality parameters, including pH, total nitrogen, and chemical oxygen demand (COD).

Operational Throughput and By-Product Recovery
The treatment plant exceeded its contracted hydraulic throughput while executing automatic staging and de-staging of its ion exchange trains in response to fluctuating feedwater flows. The facility is engineered to operate at 99% water recovery without generating liquid brine waste.

Instead of liquid brine, the process recovers phosphate as a solid hydroxyapatite by-product designed for safe and cost-effective handling and disposal. The project was completed according to the contracted scope, transitioning the PHOSPHIX platform from laboratory testing and on-site piloting to full operational deployment.

Regulatory Context and Technology Platform
The delivery positions Clean TeQ Water to target regional phosphorus removal and recovery requirements associated with the revised European Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and industrial discharge limits. The PHOSPHIX technology expands the application scope of Clean TeQ Water’s proprietary Moving Bed Ion Exchange (MBIX) platform, joining commercial implementations including DESALX, HIROX, BIONEX, and CLEAN-IX.

Edited by Romila DSilva, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.