Filtration and biofiltration units specified for pollution control

By using filtration and biofiltration technologies, Aberdeen’s new International Business Park is delivering a best-practice Sustainable Drainage (SuDS) scheme to meet rigorous pollution control requirements.

Boasting 16.2 hectares, Aberdeen International Business Park comprises office, leisure and restaurant facilities, with future plans incorporating ideas for hotel accommodation.

Located on the link road between Aberdeen Airport and the Aberdeen Western Perimeter Route, the business park has been developed to accommodate Aberdeen’s international business community.

Pollution control

The development’s constructor, Bowmer and Kirkland for Abstract (Cornwall), was tasked with meeting two strict levels of pollution control in the drainage treatment train for several of the site’s areas.

The stringent planning and pollutant criterion was established by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) in order to safeguard the water quality of the River Dee, which is renowned for its salmon.

To meet the required level of treatment, a variety of SuDS components were included in the first phase of the business park development.

Whilst the site’s mixed drainage scheme incorporates SuDS measures – such as filter strips, permeable pavement, soakways and filter trenches – Hydro International’s Up-Flo filtration units and Hydro BioCell biofiltration units were specifically selected to meet the SEDA’s planning requirements.

Hydro BioCell biofiltration units

Six Hydro BioCell units have been fitted in the site’s landscaped courtyard garden around three linked four-storey commercial blocks.

The device has been designed with the appearance of a normal tree or shrub planted through a grate. Beneath it, a pre-cast concrete chamber contains a layer of mulch and a soil filter to provide surface water treatment before the water is discharged into the drainage system.

The flush profile of the grate is used to treat pollutants in the runoff from the courtyard; this is also passed through filter trenches to provide the two levels of treatment required by SEPA.

Hydro Up-Flo filtration units

Four Up-Flo Filters have been installed in concrete manholes to treat runoff from a two-storey car park’s draining surface.

On occasions where engineering approaches are prohibited, due to lack of space, Up-Flo provides a small foot print solution.

The units work to remove fine sediments, hydrocarbons and pollutants from the car park runoff. By combining sedimentation and screening with fluidised-bed filtration technology, they offer multi-stage treatment train in one device.

• Visit Hydro International’s website