Compliance & sustainability
Packaged sewage plants: a complete works, built for your site
Design, build and maintenance of packaged sewage treatment plants on the activated sludge process — for municipalities, industrial sites and remote facilities the mains can't serve.
Not every site can send its sewage to a municipal works — and in South Africa, plenty of municipal works cannot take what is already arriving. A packaged sewage plant puts the whole treatment train on the site that needs it: collection, aeration, settling and final disinfection, engineered as one compact plant that is designed, built and maintained by the same team.
Prosep's sewage treatment services are built on the activated sludge process — the same technology behind large municipal works, applied at whatever scale the duty demands. The process itself is natural; nature offers a unique solution to treat sewage cost-effectively. What makes a plant reliable is the engineering around it: how each section is arranged, sized and enhanced for the load it will actually carry.
The process
Four sections, one working plant
Every packaged sewage plant we build runs the same proven train — sized and arranged for the site's actual load.
Collection & anaerobic treatment
A primary or interceptor tank evens out the feed to the aeration stage, retains large particles before they reach the process, assists denitrification, and stores the extra sludge the process generates — typically removed at six-monthly or annual intervals.
Aeration
A flat-bottomed aeration tank with an aeration ring at its base. Blowers and diffusers introduce air so that intimate contact is established between the air and the solid matter — the biology that does the actual treatment work.
Sludge settling
A settler tank produces a clear overflow liquid. We only use conical settler tanks — more expensive to manufacture, but no solids can collect in the bottom. Settled solids return to the process; left behind, they would turn anaerobic and cause foaming that ruins the effluent.
Polishing & disinfection
Where the outflow feeds dams or rivers, phosphates are removed by ferric chloride dosing and a second settler, then a chlorine or ozone contact stage brings the final effluent to the standard required for discharge or irrigation.
After commissioning
A plant is only as good as its maintenance
The solids the process produces are dried on site — a clean system of drying beds produces a sterile, usable dry mass for composting, and stored sludge needs removing only at six-monthly or annual intervals. Prosep maintains the plants we build, monitors the biology that does the work, and can assess and take over an existing plant that has been left to drift.
Who this is for
Anywhere the mains can't do the job
Municipalities adding capacity, industrial sites treating their own sewage, and remote facilities beyond the network.
Municipalities & sewerage
Packaged capacity alongside the works, plus the treatment chemistry behind it.
Sector pageEffluent treatment
Industrial wastewater to discharge limits — the process-side counterpart.
Related servicePotable water treatment
Drinking-grade water to SANS 241 for the same remote sites.
Related serviceHow we work
Assess, engineer, prove, monitor — the same discipline behind every plant.
Our methodStandards we work to
Where a plant's outflow feeds dams or rivers, phosphate removal and disinfection are required, and the final effluent is treated to the standard suitable for discharge or irrigation. The same team handles the industrial side of the same problem through effluent treatment, and where a remote site also needs drinking water, potable water treatment to SANS 241 completes the picture.
- DWS discharge requirements
- General Standard — discharge & irrigation
FAQ
Packaged sewage plant questions
What is a packaged sewage plant?
A complete sewage treatment works, engineered as a compact set of tanks and equipment that can be installed at the site that needs it — rather than piping sewage to a distant municipal works. Prosep designs, builds and maintains packaged plants on the activated sludge process, for both small and large duties; the difference lies in the arrangement and enhancement of the various sections of the process.
How does the activated sludge process work?
It is a natural biological process, engineered to run reliably. Sewage is collected and evened out in a primary tank, aerated so that micro-organisms break down the waste, and passed through a settler that separates the solids and returns them to the process. A final polishing stage removes phosphates and disinfects the effluent to the standard its destination requires.
Can the treated effluent be reused?
Yes — the final contact stage treats the liquor to a standard suitable for discharge into dams and rivers or for use as irrigation. The solids are also usable: a clean system of on-site drying beds produces a sterile dry mass suitable for composting.
Who are packaged sewage plants for?
Municipalities that need capacity alongside an existing works, industrial sites that treat their own domestic sewage, and remote facilities beyond the reach of a municipal connection. If your site generates sewage and the mains cannot take it, a packaged plant is the standard answer.
How much maintenance does a packaged plant need?
Less than most operators expect, if it is designed honestly. Stored sludge is typically removed at six-monthly or annual intervals, and the biology needs monitoring rather than constant intervention. Prosep maintains the plants we build — and can assess and take over the running of an existing plant.
A site the mains can't serve?
Tell us the load and the site. We design the plant around what will actually arrive, build it, commission it, and stay accountable for how it runs.