It’s the call no water treatment plant superintendent wants to receive, especially not while on vacation. Andy McClure, Superintendent of Toledo, Ohio’s Collins Park Water Treatment Plant, answered his phone to hear his head of operations report that the level of microcystin in the finished water was high, caused by a large harmful algal bloom (HAB) that was impacting the plant’s Lake Erie intake.
An MABR is essentially a biological wastewater treatment process that utilizes seemingly passive aeration through oxygen-permeable membranes. Oxygen transfer through the MABR membranes is diffusion based: driven by concentration differences such that oxygen passes from air at atmospheric pressure into water at a higher hydrostatic pressure. This oxygen transfer mechanism, wherein air is supplied to the process at very low pressure, is the reason MABRs have significantly lower energy consumption compared to other wastewater treatment processes, such as conventional activated sludge (CAS), that utilize diffusers. This energy savings is one of the key reasons MABRs are gaining traction in the municipal wastewater industry.
Faced with rising operating costs due to increasing energy and chemical prices as well as stricter effluent permit limits, many operators and engineers are turning to sensors and automation as a means to enhance treatment performance and reduce operating costs while limited capital expenses. In order to overcome these challenges, an advanced process control solution was implemented in an aerobic digester in Green Lake, Wisconsin.
The city of Black River Falls in Wisconsin used chemical treatment with ferric chloride (FeCl3) to achieve their effluent total phosphorus (TP) permit of 1.0 mg/l. Historically, the chemical dosing rate was manually adjusted on a daily basis based on the measured effluent TP concentration. The plant was upgraded with an OSCAR process performance optimizer control system with phosphorus controller, which uses continuous measurement of orthophosphate. Read the full case study to learn more.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are facing many challenges. Permits on nitrogen and phosphorus in the effluent water are progressively becoming stricter in order to protect surface waters from eutrophication. At the same time, plants are required to reduce both energy and chemical consumption and are often challenged with limited time and staff. In total, they are required to do more with less. In order to meet these challenges, a plant with a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) in Green Lake, Wisconsin was upgraded with an advanced process control system – the OSCAR process performance optimizer with NURO controller.
This paper helps to understand the efficacy of BakerCorp Electrocoagulation (EC) technology and treatment process in treating selenium-contaminated mine effluent. Two mine effluent samples were treated by Baker EC. Selenium constituent concentrations in both water samples were reduced significantly to below reporting qualification limits. Based on the results of the effluent samples, electrocoagulation is an effective treatment option for waste streams found to contain selenium.
When the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority (CCMWA) anticipated the need to upgrade the Hugh A. Wyckoff water treatment plant, they turned to granular activated carbon (GAC) technology after vetting several alternatives. The plant, a wholesaler in a two-plant system, processes up to 72 million gallons per day and serves about 350,000 people. Comprising of Wyckoff and the James E. Quarles treatment plant, CCMWA is the second largest water provider in Georgia.
Along the Indian River Lagoon adjacent to Vero Beach, Florida, both residents and government officials were becoming increasingly concerned about excessive nutrient loads and pollution.
The AquaNereda® Aerobic Granular Sludge System (AGS) is an innovative biological wastewater treatment technology that provides advanced treatment using the unique features of aerobic granular biomass. This advanced nutrient removal process can reduce footprint up to 75% and energy up to 50% when compared to conventional activated sludge systems.
Facing new limits on acceptable levels of DBPs in the drinking water, as well as age-old complaints about the taste of the water during the summer algal bloom, the North Texas Municipal Water District turned to ozone disinfection as a possible alternative able to address both concerns.
To protect the sensitive waters of the Neuse River Basin, the State of North Carolina formally adopted a nutrient management strategy in 1997 which established Total Maximum Daily Loads for all point source contributors of Total Nitrogen (TN) to the Neuse River. By upgrading its oxidation ditches, this Eastern NC plant saw a reduction of 76% TN compared to its average discharge from the past 6 years.
The state of Minnesota instituted a new water quality requirement that limits cities along the Minnesota River to a 1 mg/L Total Phosphorus limit by 2015 to prevent algae blooms and resulting pollution problems.
The DE NORA TETRA™ Denite® system combines denitrification and filtration for the effective removal of nitrate-nitrogen and suspended solids in a single treatment step. Unique SNAP-T® Block underdrain provides superior distribution of backwash air and water, resulting in more efficient bed cleaning and reduced filter operating costs. Revolutionary interlocking grid design has no moving parts and resists uplift without the need for grout or anchors.
Evoqua's OMNIFLO® SBR MAX system with Jet Tech technology combines the benefits of a true-batch SBR with the benefits of a continuous fill batch reactor process to treat wastewater influent flows to over 5 times design. The OMNIFLO SBR MAX system optimizes hydraulic handling during storm flows, reduces equipment sizing and cost, and can trim energy costs over 15%!
Aspiral™ is a smart, packaged wastewater treatment solution based on the Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR) technology.
Often times the biosolids management portion of the treatment plant may not be optimized, resulting in inefficient operation of the entire treatment plant. For instance, did you know that aerobic digestion is the second largest consumer of energy after biological treatment aeration at a wastewater treatment plant? Or, do you realize that up to 50% of the nutrient loading on any given day may be coming from the biosolids process?
The benefits of an OSCAR system are clear. The OSCAR control system is a customizable, integrated system comprised of hardware, software, and services. Designed to be used with Sanitaire biological treatment solutions, OSCAR helps plants meet their performance requirements and operating budgets.
The TITAN MBR QUBE™ is a complete, factory-built, packaged wastewater treatment system featuring a compact design for simple shipping and mobility. Equipped with the same TITAN MBR™ technology that has made S&L an industry leader in pre-engineered treatment systems, the TITAN MBR QUBE™ provides simple, economical and efficient plug and play treatment in a much smaller footprint than conventional treatment systems. The TITAN MBR QUBE™ is a 40-ft long cube shipping container; delivered directly to the job site, minimal assembly required.
The AquaNereda® Aerobic Granular Sludge System is an innovative biological wastewater treatment technology that provides advanced treatment using the unique features of aerobic granular biomass. The unique process features of the AquaNereda system translate into a flexible and compact process that offers energy efficiency and significantly lower chemical consumption.
The Reliant Water Technologies SCOUT Hydro Profiling System is the answer to obtaining clear and concise shallow water survey data quickly and inexpensively. By not only providing a visual hydrographic ‘picture’ of everything underwater, in any shallow body of water, the SCOUT also provides the volume of sludge in the water body (as well as the volume of free water). The ‘picture’ provided is color enhanced in order to provide clear, definitive delineation of variable depths of sludge, or debris, and includes multi-point water depth over-lays.
Carollo Engineers, an environmental engineering firm that specializes solely on the planning, design, and construction of water and wastewater facilities has identified five major trends in the industry.
At WEFTEC 2016, Evoqua Water Technologies explored six core challenges faced by wastewater treatment plants -- energy reduction, nutrient removal, odor and corrosion control, aging plant equipment, water reuse and disinfection. In this Water Online Radio interview, Paul Rice, Municipal Marketing Director with Evoqua Water Technologies, discusses energy reduction and nutrient removal in more detail.
The innovative CoMag System from Evoqua infuses magnetite into chemical floc to make it heavier, significantly improving clarifier performance. This video explains how the CoMag® System works and how it can be used to increase capacity, enhance clarifier performance and achieve total phosphorous of 0.05 mg/L.
Blue Water Satellite uses satellite technology to monitor nutrient loading on land and in water bodies. Blue Water Satellite can compare current and past data to give a far greater picture of land and water body health than previously thought possible.
Ferazur/Mangazur are biological filtration processes for the removal of iron, manganese and arsenic from groundwater sources. The precipate is removed by using Biolite "S", our specially developed media that requires no replacement. Watch the video to learn more.
Interested in sidestream treatment or curious about the innovation known as "shortcut nitrogen removal"? Mudit Gangal, product manager for Ovivo, explains both from the tradeshow floor at WEFTEC 2017. Specifically, Gangal talks about the advantages of the AnammoPAQ system, which is evidenced by a number of successful installations referenced in the video.
About Nutrient Removal
Nutrient removal from wastewater consists of treating wastewater to remove nitrogen and phosphorus before it reenters natural waterways. High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater cause eutrophication, a process where excess nutrients stimulate excessive plant growth such as algal blooms and cyanobacteria. The decomposition of the algae by bacteria uses up the oxygen in the water causing other organisms to die. This creates more organic matter for the bacteria to decompose. In addition, some algal blooms can produce toxins that contaminate drinking water supplies.
As authorized by the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program regulates point sources, such as municipal wastewater treatment plants, that discharge pollutants as effluent into the waters of the United States. In recent years, many of the States’ environmental bodies have lowered nutrient limits to arrest eutrophication. Maryland’s effort to protect the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries is perhaps the most notable example of nutrient removal in the US. Nutrient removal continues to be a growing area of focus for wastewater treatment throughout the world.
The removal of nitrogen and phosphorus require different nutrient removal processes. To remove nitrogen, the nitrogen is oxidized from ammonia to become nitrate through a process called nitrification. This process is then followed by denitrification where the nitrate is reduced to nitrogen gas which is released to the atmosphere and removed from the wastewater.
Nitrification is a two-step aerobic process which typically takes place in aeration tanks. Denitrification requires anoxic conditions to encourage the appropriate biological conditions to form. The activated sludge process is often used to reduce nitrate to nitrogen gas in anoxic or denitrification tanks.
Phosphorus can be removed biologically using polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) which accumulate large quantities of phosphorus within their cells and separate it from treated water. Phosphorus removal can also be achieved by chemical removal. Once removed as sludge, phosphorus may be stored in a land fill. However, many municipalities and treatment facilities are looking to resell the biosolids for use in fertilizer.
