Hydro International launches advanced tertiary treatment partnership with Brightwork

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Hydro International has expanded its advanced tertiary wastewater treatment capabilities in the UK through a new partnership with Netherlands-based technology specialist Brightwork, strengthening support for water companies facing increasingly strict environmental discharge standards.

The partnership will see Hydro International supply and support Brightwork’s tertiary treatment technologies throughout the UK water sector, helping utilities meet tightening compliance requirements while addressing operational pressures around cost, installation space and project delivery timescales.

As regulatory expectations continue to rise across the UK water industry, water companies are being required to improve nutrient removal performance and enhance wastewater treatment efficiency in sensitive catchment areas.

In line with Environment Agency guidance, wastewater treatment works serving a population equivalent of more than 10,000 must implement tertiary treatment where discharged effluent contributes significantly to nutrient loading in receiving water bodies.

The collaboration between Hydro International and Brightwork is designed to help utilities respond more effectively to these challenges with modular, scalable and operationally resilient tertiary filtration solutions.

One of Brightwork’s core technologies is the Moving Bed Filter (MBF), a continuous (bio)filtration system engineered to remove suspended solids, nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater streams with high efficiency.

The system continuously captures pollutants and excess biomass which are discharged as a concentrated waste flow, while the filtration sand is simultaneously cleaned during operation. This continuous cleaning process ensures uninterrupted treatment performance and maximises system availability.

The MBF system has been designed with modularity and ease of deployment in mind. Unlike many conventional tertiary treatment systems, both the tanks and filtration units are standardised and manufactured off-site.

This approach simplifies on-site installation, reduces civil engineering requirements and shortens project lead times, making it particularly attractive for utilities operating under demanding AMP delivery schedules and tight regulatory deadlines.

The modular design also gives consultants and contractors greater flexibility when designing treatment infrastructure. Additional filtration stages can be incorporated where required to meet increasingly stringent discharge permits for nutrients including phosphorus and nitrogen, supporting long-term compliance strategies for wastewater treatment works across the UK.

The partnership further strengthens Hydro International’s existing sand filtration offering and builds on the company’s established expertise in maintaining, refurbishing and optimising wastewater filtration assets across the water industry.

Alongside the MBF technology, Brightwork has also developed Sand-Cycle®, an advanced smart monitoring and control platform designed to optimise the performance of Moving Bed Filters and other continuous filtration systems.

Sand-Cycle® uses radio frequency identification (RFID) tags embedded within the filter bed to monitor and analyse the movement of sand grains throughout the filtration process. The technology continuously collects operational data, providing water companies with valuable insight into filtration performance and asset condition.

brightwork innovative tertiary treatment technologies

Through a remote dashboard interface, operators can monitor key metrics including sand circulation rates and filter performance in real time. This capability is particularly valuable for unmanned or remotely operated wastewater treatment sites, enabling operators to maintain visibility of asset health without the need for frequent site visits.

The system also supports predictive maintenance strategies by helping operators proactively identify developing operational issues before they lead to unplanned downtime, process inefficiencies or costly maintenance interventions.

Importantly, Sand-Cycle® can be integrated into both new and existing continuous sand filtration systems regardless of the original manufacturer. The technology is exclusively available to the UK market through Hydro International, offering water companies access to enhanced operational intelligence and improved filtration efficiency without the need for complete system replacement.

Ross Brace, Filtration Manager at Hydro International, said: “Tertiary treatment is an essential part of the wastewater treatment train but it’s often associated with high installation, operation and maintenance costs.

“With ammonia, phosphorus and nitrogen limits expected to become more stringent in sensitive catchments, water companies are under increasing pressure to deploy tertiary treatment that can be delivered quickly, efficiently and with long-term operational resilience. Through our new partnership with Brightwork, we’re supplying proven technologies that offer fast installation, cost efficiencies and smart monitoring to streamline tertiary treatment at every stage.”

Hans Wouters, Managing Director at Brightwork, said: “We have been dedicated to developing MBF technology for over 30 years. With this strategic partnership with a service provider who has a longstanding track record in the UK water sector, we’re combining our innovative technology and expertise to bring advanced tertiary treatment with smart monitoring to wastewater treatment plants across the UK.”