IMPROVING THE ECONOMICS OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Every wastewater treatment process is rooted in biology. After all, for the most part, it’s biology that created the waste in the first place…
We rely on microorganisms in wastewater found in nature to do the heavy lifting of removing organic compounds and nutrients harmful to wildlife (such as nitrogen and phosphorous) in order to produce clean water that can be discharged back into our waterways. However, most of this microbiology is derived only from what comes in from the sewer collection system - which is made up of mostly human fecal matter (which is more than 50% bacteria), ground water infiltration, and kitchen food waste.
Leverage the power of superior biology already available in the soil to balance your plant operations and save electricity and operating $$
The vast majority of fecal bacteria is strictly anaerobic (which means it works only in the absence of oxygen) and is very inefficient in metabolizing organic compounds. The few aerobic (works only with oxygen) and facultative (works with and without oxygen) microbes must be encouraged to grow in the treatment plant through the use of various recycle schemes and control of oxygen levels. This means that large amounts of air must be blown into basins of wastewater to create the right level of conditions for the right kind of microbes to do their job. In many cases, the electricity needed for this can be up to 50% of the entire cost to operate the plant. In fact, the US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that almost 5% of the entire electricity demand of the United States is used to treat wastewater.
What if it were possible to both:
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Reduce the amount of organic material that entered the treatment plant, and
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Reinforce the plant microbial community with huge quantities of much more efficient facultative bacteria
It would mean that treatment plants could:
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Increase their rated capacity, and
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Remove the same amount of organic material and nutrients with less need for aeration
In-Pipe Technology controls the biofilm within the collection system using bacteria that are common to the soil. While these bacteria may be present in sewer systems, they are not present in great enough populations to have much influence. The In-Pipe bacteria are facultative and thrive whether oxygen is present or not. Moreover, they grow quickly and, when added in high concentrations on a continuous basis, quickly dominate the entire sewer system. Their growth and activity convert carbon into carbon dioxide and nitrogen compounds into gaseous nitrogen, all without energy input.
Because In-Pipe’s bacteria do not require oxygen to perform, aeration energy at the treatment plant is greatly reduced. The highly efficient microcosm brought about by In-Pipe is capable of processing a far greater amount of carbon and nitrogen per gram of mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) than any microcosm coaxed into existence from the usual wastewater microbiology.
HERE'S HOW IT WORKS
STEP 1:
System review
In-Pipe will conduct a review of your treatment plant processes, aeration profile, and key performance. We will consult with your staff to set goals in place for process improvement. Our engineering team will then conduct a system-wide analysis using proprietary modelling to determine optimal dosing locations.
Typical results we’ve seen in over 20 years of installations with our customers are:
20-40%
Reduction in influent pollutant loads (BOD)
30-40%
Increase in the amount of bioavailable organic material (rbCOD)
20-30%
Reduction in influent solids (TSS)
30-45%
Reduction in aeration run-time requirements
10-20%
Reduction in influent Total Nitrogen (TN)
50-100%
Reduction in need for added carbon for nutrient removal
50-100%
Reduction in filamentous outbreaks
20-40%
Increase in Nutrient (Nitrogen and Phosphorous) Uptake rates