The ASP Sewage Treatment Plant
An honest review of the ASP treatment plant
Reading this review prior to purchasing the ASP allows you to fully understand what you are purchasing. Before you purchase it!
ASP stands for Active Sludge plant. Active sludge is a term used to describe where the bacteria form. Active sludge is liquid, with bacteria freely floating in the water. This is apposed to a fixed media treatment plant where bacteria grow on a surface. The benefit of active sludge is that bacteria find their food, rather than the food having to pass over the bacteria.
The ASP treatment plant from Premier tech has a simple yet effective function.
The Premier Tech ASP is made using a Rotational molded Polyethylene (or PE for short). PE is a good tank material; it has a small amount of “give”. This “give, or ability to move, makes it ideal for allowing long term ground movement.
Being machine made, the quality is the same for everyone produced, ensuring build quality standards are met.
The ASP is an easy tank to install. If the ground is dry and unlikely to be flooded, the tank can be installed without concrete. This being said, the ASP is a little deeper than some of its cylindrical counterparts, and therefore will require a slightly deeper hole to be dug.
Due to the weir system, it is important that the tank is installed level.
Once installed, set up is quite easy. A qualified electrician will have to wire the air blower up and the system should ideally be tested or commissioned by someone who fully understands the workings of the plant. This system is however very simple and the chances of something being wrong at installation stage are slim.
It is important to ensure the mixing is even inside the chamber, and if the installation has additional “risers” you may have to cable tie the tube diffuser down to ensure it doesn’t float upwards in the tank.
The ASP uses Charles Austin Air blowers. These are widely seen in the sewage industry. They are effective and function well. Some people have been known to replace these blowers with the more expensive Secoh, Nitto, or Hiblow air blowers. It is important to ensure the same litres per minute are maintained.
Treatment quality is in my opinion very important. This being said, all treatment plants on the market will produce quality that is within the normal standard laid out by the Environment agency. Some are inevitably better than others.
Here is how the ASP performs against the Royal commissioning standard:
| Measurment | Royal Commissioning Standard | ASP |
|---|---|---|
| BOD5 | 20mg/l | 8mg/l |
| Ammonia | 20mg/l | 7.7mg/l |
| Syspended Solids | 30mg/l | 12mg/l |
As you can see, treatment quality from the ASP is not bad by any stretch of the imagination. However, It is nowhere near as good as the Solido Smart for example, especially for Ammonia removal.
The environment agency has certain areas where you will always require a permit. For example a Site of special Scientific Interest (SSSI). As part of a permit the EA may impose stricter discharge limits than the Royal commissioning standard. Typically they will impose a limit on the ammonia levels which may make this plant unsuitable for those locations.
The air blower is housed in the neck of the tank, however it isn’t as protected as in the more expensive Solido system. The tray that the air blower sits on is connected to the lid, therefore there is a small amount of noise transferred to the lid. I would describe this noise as a low level humming sound. It f you are putting this treatment plant in the middle of a lawn, in a very quiet location, expect to hear it if you are near the system. The noise can be mitigated by the use of brick built kiosk to house the air blower. Placement of this treatment plant is important, it is advisable to put it somewhere out of earshot (10+m away from where you will be sitting on those summer nights).
The Asp Is not a bad treatment plant at all, it is very simple to install and simple to look after. This is often part of consumers main buying criteria therefore it does tick a lot of boxes. Conversely, the ASP lacks the treatment efficiency of more complex treatment plants and shouldnt be used if you are looking for the very best water quality.
It is worth noting that the method of oxygenating water as it comes into the tank prevents oxygen levels from dropping, subsequently there is less risk of smell when compared to systems that have unoxygenated primary chambers.