TALBOT: Making Water Solutions an Art Form

Amid increasing pressure on water resources and a global rise in supply-risk and cost of total water management, Talbot’s more than 30 years’ experience and delivery of in excess of 300 projects in over 20 countries in Africa, Australia and Eastern Europe brings the assurance of insight, innovation and quality. “We integrate expertise from engineers, scientists and technicians, to deliver a range of innovative, yet robust solutions across a broad range of industries,” the company says.

From the analysis and assessment of water use to the design, implementation, construction and management of bespoke solutions. Talbot is committed to leading the way in shoring up supply of this vital commodity while drastically reducing the cost of total water management. “We are committed to providing practical sustainable solutions to address the water-related challenges faced by our clients,” Talbot affirms.

INTEGRATED SERVICES

Talbot’s suite of capabilities is made possible by the confluence of a number of integrated,

complementary services including data and analytics, strategic and operational water advice across industry sectors clients, as well as the design and turnkey construction of water, wastewater treatment and water recovery facilities for blue chip clients across the continent.

Further support is provided to clients through the provision of total water management and optimisation services, encompassing water, wastewater and water recovery across the full production cycle. Talbot’s commercial environmental laboratory offers a full range of microbiological, organic and inorganic environmental analytical services having established itself as one of Africa’s premier environmental laboratories.

Last year, it was the combination of Talbot’s individual elements that CEO Carl Haycock highlighting as hugely significant in giving it the edge. “Most sustainability companies don’t have the same level of access to data and deep technical knowledge that is built into our strategies,” he stressed. “We have the strategic and technical teams integrated into the strategy, and then the data feeding into that. Having this in one company enables us to identify and provide deep support in delivering strategic opportunities for our clients.”

With focus sectors such as FMCG, food and beverage, agri-processing, industrial, and mining, Talbot offers everything from strategic consulting, technical assessments and feasibility studies to plant design and build services, operational support and environmental laboratory services.

Talbot’s in-depth knowledge and broad capabilities were called upon in July for vital testing, as the aftereffects of April’s severe flooding and landslides continued to be felt. Warnings were issued by the eThekwini Municipality, and Talbot itself, that beaches and some rivers along the Durban coastline were unsafe to use.

After the city’s wastewater treatment facility and sanitation infrastructure were damaged during the floods there have been reports of high levels of E. coli, a form of bacteria that travels through a person’s digestive tract and then releases toxins into the body.

Talbot GM Micole Martens relayed how the organisation had been collecting samples from the main beaches in Durban and rivers such as the Umgeni, Umdloti and the Duzi, ever since the catastrophe which claimed 400 lives. “We are doing weekly tests in the eThekwini beaches and a few rivers around KZN,” she said. “E. coli is one of the indicators that determines if there is faecal or sewage contamination, and if there are high levels, it can result in increased pathogens in the water, which can result in illnesses. We have been finding spikes in E. coli. The rivers are normally high, but there have been spikes in the eThekwini beaches.”

VSEP TECHNOLOGY

Talbot has been a long-time ally to the mining industry, notably in recent years helping companies enhance the sustainable management of their water resources. The implementation of big data analytics and internet of things (IoT) technologies has been critical in reducing their consumption, increasing water reuse and improving environmental compliance across various aspects of the value chain.

“Data is the resource of the digital age and gives miners and minerals processors an opportunity to overcome their water challenges,” assessed Talbot smart water engineer and data scientist Sashnee Naicker.

Now, Talbot is working with several major mining companies to demonstrate the efficacy of a different type of technology. Vibratory sheer enhanced process (VSEP) developments have the ability to effectively treat highly contaminated and difficult wastewater streams, and recover high-value resources currently consigned to waste, treating waters that other technologies simply cannot.

“With tightening legislation in the management, containment and disposal of brine, we continually seek out innovative, robust solutions that offer effective waste management to our clients,” says Talbot technical manager Claire Lipsett. “Ironically, VSEP is often the last option for companies that have tried conventional methods and found that their waste streams are just too dirty,” Lipsett continued. “Miners and precious metals refineries facing the prospect of operating or investing in large, high-capex multi-stage wastewater treatment systems now have a far more cost-effective solution with VSEP, which can achieve in one stage what traditional solutions would typically accomplish in five or six.”

With mines under increasing pressure to manage their water impacts, with regard both abstraction in severely water-stressed regions and impact on groundwater qualities, VSEP holds enormous potential to assist with the production of potable water for communities in remote locations. “We see positive commitment to water reuse targets which are crucial to the availability of water to growing communities,” Haycock confirmed.

“We regard this renewed focus on compliance as a niche market opportunity, and an opening for us to put our in-depth experience in water treatment to use.” By commissioning a water treatment plant Talbot has enabled one of its clients in the sector to take a step towards water independence while significantly reducing its expenditure on municipal supplies, recovering water pumped from underground workings that would otherwise be wasted.

The containerised reverse osmosis plant at a site on the Witwatersrand goldfields will treat water abstracted through the mine’s dewatering programme. “This treated water will enable a significant step towards water independence by replacing expensive potable supplies,” revealed Talbot Technical Director Grahame Thompson. “At the same time, it will alleviate some of the burden on the already stressed supply system while enhancing the operation’s ESG reputation.

“The client’s ultimate aim is to become self-sufficient in respect of its water needs by investigating and developing other opportunities, one of them being the utilisation of alternative sources; this project will reduce its dependence on regional water supplies by as much as 30%.” Proven water recovery technologies available across multiple applications are critical in South Africa, and Talbot continues to deliver on the aspirations that Haycock described are driving its expert climate and population-based strategies to water risks.

“As a business we are ambitious,” he summed up, “and we have the team in place to allow Talbot to become be the leading provider of sustainable water and wastewater solutions across the African continent.”