Wastewater Treatment Plant Installs Covers & Scrubber System to Control Odor Emissions

Twenty-five miles west of Dayton, Ohio is the county seat for Preble county - Eaton, Ohio, population 8,000. As the only city in this largely rural county, Eaton finds itself the focus of residential and commercial development transforming it into a bedroom community for Dayton as well as Cincinnati 50 miles to the south. Participating in this transformation is the Eaton Wastewater Treatment plant. From the original facility in 1909, the Eaton plant has upgraded and expanded to a treatment capacity of 1.9 million gallons per day with a hydraulic capacity to handle peak loads of 6 million gallons per day utilizing state of the art technology throughout the treatment process.

With its location on a major state highway and with neighbors only 150 feet away, the Eaton wastewater plant had become in the early 1990s the focus of numerous odor complaints from businesses and residences; especially during the hot summer months of June through September. In response, the facility first tried a chemical feed to oxidize the odor, but that effort proved ineffective. Then in 1997, following City Council action and under the direction of the Public Works Superintendent - Gary Wagner - a neighborhood committee was formed to address this odor problem.

After touring the facility, the Committee identified the plant's two 57' diameter primary clarifiers as the odor source. It recommended installing covers on the primary clarifiers as well as venting the contained odors to an odor control scrubber system. In November 1997 bids were solicited for aluminum and fiberglass covers as well as for structural-fabric covers from ILC Dover (whose covers are marketed under the trade name Vapor Guard).

In December 1997, ILC Dover's Vapor Guardâ covers were awarded a turnkey contract for the design, engineering and installation of the covers and odor control scrubber system. 'This award was based on Vapor Guard's demonstrated ability to resolve Eaton's odor issues and to minimize operating costs7 said Gary Wagner.

Key to Vapor Guard's ability to control odors are its heat-sealed seams which eliminate intra-panel emissions, unique mechanical closures which ensure leak tight inter-panel connections, sealed cover/tank interfaces and fully gasketed access doors.

Vapor Guard's low profile minimizes scrubber acquisition and operating costs. Further, Vapor Guard's full perimeter access to baffles, weirs and effluent launders reduces daily maintenance costs while its easily removable modular-panels facilitate tank maintenance.

Finally, the Vapor Guard* covers were installed with a vertical packed bed scrubber system operating at not less than 99.5% hydrogen sulfide removal efficiency (up to 20 ppm inlet concentration and £ 0.2 ppm outlet concentration).

Installation of the Vapor Guardâ covers and scrubber system was completed in June, 1998.