UV disinfection system assists building in achieving green project award

Problem

Architects of the skyscraper at One Bryant Park in New York City sought to create a green structure that would conserve energy and resources, including water.

Solution

A graywater system with holding tanks on certain floors captured rainwater and stored it along with graywater. After filtration, MEGATRON germicidal UV disinfection systems from Atlantic Ultraviolet inactivate harmful organisms. Multiple setups installed every nine floors handle the building’s water flow.

RESULT:

Water recycling help save millions of gallons of drinking water and reduce water consumption by almost 50%. The rainwater and recycled graywater are used for restrooms and irrigation. 631-273-0500; www.atlanticultraviolet.com

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Dairy producer complies with demanding standards

Problem

A dairy processing company in Colombia needed to improve water treatment in production and equipment washing to meet government standards. Process flows reached 6,600 gph with a high content of TSS, FOG, COD and BOD. The flow needed to increase to 9,250 gph. The company had limited space and a primary DAF system that could not clean the water to the regulatory standard of 7 mg/L BOD.

Solution

Clean Water Technology designed a complete system including an advanced primary treatment followed by biological treatment and sludge treatment. The system consists of a GEM System150/300 EGSB anaerobic reactor, which removes 75% of the COD, converting it into biogas, and a membrane bioreactor. The primary and secondary sludges go to an advanced Swingmill dewatering system.

RESULT:

The system helped the company outperform regulatory standards, while taking up less space. It also reduced operating costs. 310-380-4648; www.cwt-global.com

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Plant reduces operating costs with online process analyzers

Problem

At the Howard F. Curren Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in Tampa, Florida, influent volume and characteristics vary constantly, making reliable real‐time information about nitrification and denitrification critical for process control.

Solution

Plant management invested in three online analyzers from ChemScan, an In-Situ Company. The analyzers provide automated sampling and real‐time results. At two points on the six stages in the plant’s nitrification reactors, the analyzers automatically draw samples and analyze them for nitrate and ammonia. Connecting the analyzers to a PLC via the SCADA enables automatic adjustment of blowers for more precise control. The analyzers also help control denitrification. Samples from the nitrification final tanks analyzed for nitrates. The resulting value is used to regulate the pace of the methanol feed for denitrification.

RESULT:

“Online monitoring has removed the guesswork from optimizing our nitrification and denitrification processes,” says Robert Decker, operations specialist. “With access to accurate and timely information we’ve improved our operations and reduced costs.” More efficient use of methanol also saves money, and on-site reagent mixing and saves time. The process eliminates hourly tests for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and chlorine residual and manual chemical feed adjustment. 800-665-7133; www.chemscan.com

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Self-Cleaning screening system prove reliable in harshest storm conditions

Problem

Though Texas is drought-prone, the risk of extreme rainfall and flooding is projected to increase by 30-50% by 2031, requiring improved stormwater infrastructure. Before installation of self-cleaning Trashracks (Duperon), the city of Dallas Hampton Road Pump Station operated without any protection in front of its stormwater intake grating. While the site can handle up to 201 mgd, the pumps continuously clogged. Operators had to use hand rakes to clear the grates, more than 100 feet long,

Solution

The Trashrack automated screening system is designed to manage highly variable debris, large and slam, and ever-changing high-velocity stormwater flows. Its continuously and automatically cleaned screen assures maximum efficiency.

RESULT:

The city furnished the pump station with five units installed over five years. “We have debris that varies from grass to very large tree trunks, and we wanted equipment that could handle all of that,” says Dhruv Pandya, district manager for the city Department of Flood Control. “The systems performed efficiently and effectively.” 800-383-8479; www.duperon.com

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Town solves challenges with advanced wastewater treatment system

Problem

Section, Alabama, needed an expandable, low-maintenance wastewater treatment system to replace nonfunctioning septic systems serving 700 residents and commercial entities.

Solution

To treat 30,000 gpd, system designers chose an ECOPOD advanced wastewater treatment system from Delta Treatment Systems. It treats domestic waste at up to 300 mg/L BOD and TSS quietly and efficiently with no odor and no inner tank filters, screens, or diffusers to service. It handles daily flow fluctuations of 50-100%. The units were shipped to the site ready for installation. A 14,200-gallon flow equalization tank with duplex pumps was installed ahead of the treatment reactor tanks. A 19,190-gallon primary tank precedes the flow equalization tank. After three years, an ECOPOD with 15,000 gpd of capacity was added to accommodate population growth. Effluent is released via drip dispersal.

RESULT:

The system is operating as designed and requires only minimal operation and periodic professional maintenance. 800-221-4436; www.infiltratorwater.com

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City benefits from packaged treatment system to rejuvenate aging plant

Problem

The city of Savage, Minnesota had relied on legacy Tonka Water (now Kurita America) equipment at their No. 2 Water Treatment Plant since 1985. When it came time to replace the aging infrastructure, they wanted to keep aeration and gravity filtration, but also enhance the treatment process with detention.

Solution

Kurita America’s Dualator III packaged treatment product consolidates aeration, detention and filtration into a single low- profile unit. The system includes two separate 1,500 gpm, 48-by-13-by-14-foot-high units that each incorporate aeration, detention and filtration functions within a single vessel. The aerator section provides natural iron oxidation, after which chemicals are added through a static mixer for additional oxidation and radium adsorption. The baffled detention chamber and available volume above the filter media provide approximately 25 minutes of total reaction time for particle formation prior to removal through GreensandPlus and anthracite dual media. Large hinged manways allow for ease of access into all three stages of the treatment process, whether for observation during service or periodic maintenance. The filters include Simul-Wash backwashing technology, which provides advanced media cleaning while minimizing water use, cutting backwash waste.

RESULT:

The refurbishment was completed in September 2017. The city’s utilities superintendent reports that the new equipment has rejuvenated the aging plant back to reliable full-service capability, effectively removing iron, manganese and radium from the drinking water supply wells. “We made water the day we fired up,” says Michael Klimers, the superintendent. “It met or exceeded our standards and went into storage for sale.” 866-663-7633; www.kuritaamerica.com

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Plant upgrades aging equipment and increases capacity

Problem

The Robert B. Diemer Water Treatment Plant in Yorba Linda, serving multiple communities in the area of Orange County, California, needed more capacity. Updating aging equipment while using existing infrastructure was key. The flocculator in particular needed upgrades and quick access to critical drive components to prevent downtime while enhancing safety.

Solution

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California chose Jim Myers & Sons Mega-FLOCS paddle wheel flocculators to meet the various challenges. A dry well gives plant staff instant access to critical drive components. A through-wall drive design propels 12 full-size paddle wheels per stage. JMS also provided a complete drive chain cover, enhancing safety. All system components including bearings, shafts, drives and paddles were specified and manufactured to rigorous standards.

RESULT:

Two phases of the project have been implemented and are producing water to the required 520 mgd capacity. The equipment is performing well. 704-554-8397; www.jmsequipment.com

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Submersible mixer leads to cost savings for plant 

Problem

At the 0.5 mgd Valley Center (Kansas) Wastewater Treatment Plant, the cost to repair a failed 7.5 hp mixer was prohibitive. The mixer’s seal system had never been user-friendly.

Solution

Fluid Equipment of Wichita recommended a Landia submersible mixer expected to last for 20 to 25 years.

RESULT:

The mixer running two hours on and two hours off saves more than $3,000 per year in electricity. “When the mixer was installed, we turned it on and hadn’t seen the basin ever mixed like that before,” says Wade Gaylord, utility manager. “The volume the mixer put through, mixing the basin from the bottom up, was pleasantly surprising, changing the dynamics for a much better process all round. All of this with just a 4.9 hp motor.” 919-466-0603; www.landiainc.com

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Aeration used to oxidize iron for easy removal 

Problem

The new groundwater purification facility in Yankton, South Dakota was designed to use reverse osmosis. To remove significant iron, the raw water first needed an aeration step to reduce the loading on the membrane. The plant had to blend with its location in a city park and with the surrounding downtown area.

Solution

The only possible location for a draft aerator would have required replacement of a clock tower with a large and unsightly device on top of the building. Instead the city chose an in-line venturi aeration system from Mazzei Injector Company, installed out of sight in the building’s basement. It consists of two venturi air injection skids and a 24-inch Pipeline Flash Reactor.

RESULT:

The system sufficiently aerates the raw water to oxidize up to 2 mg/L of iron later removed by multimedia filters. The system requires no maintenance and there is almost no mainline pressure loss across the unit. The venturi injector eliminates the need for a blower, compressor and diffuser, reducing maintenance. The compact footprint gave the engineer flexibility to design a plant with an elevated level of architecture without sacrificing function. 661-363-6500; www.mazzei.net

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Geomembrane protects wastewater treatment plant 

Problem

The Haikey Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, receives wastewater through 36-, 30- and 24-inch force mains. As part of the Broken Arrow Municipal Authority’s effort to improve treatment, a geomembrane was needed for the flow equalization basin designed to reduce sanitary sewer overflows.

Solution

XR-5 geomembranes from Seaman Corporation/XR Geomembranes were chosen for durability and low thermal expansion and contraction. The membranes are compatible with harsh liquids and offer high UV resistance and tensile strength. They can be prefabricated with fewer field seams than rigid alternatives. This shortens installation time and cost and improves membrane integrity.

RESULT:

These properties along with toughness from the base fabric allow users to leave the liner exposed so that there is no slope maintenance and lower construction and operating costs. 800-927-8578; www.xrgeomembranes.com

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Filter effective at reducing total phosphorus levels

Problem

Upper Montgomery Joint Authority in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, had an effluent total phosphorus target of 0.1 mg/L at wide range of hydraulic and solids loadings.

Solution

The Schreiber Fuzzy Filter compressible media filter from Parkson Corp. uses air scouring during the wash cycle to clean the media. The compressible media offers stable and reliable performance despite significant flow and solids loading variation. The filter effectively removes solids created by rapid mixing of ferric chloride followed by flocculation upstream. Besides phosphorus removal, the filter produces a filtrate low in turbidity and TSS.

RESULT:

The filter meets the total phosphorus target without flocculant aids. A study confirmed that it also meets the effluent TSS limit of 5 mg/L and the effluent TDS limit of 1,000 mg/L. It maintains the desired phosphorus removal with solids loading rates from 0.6 to 6 pounds TSS/ ft2/day. 888-727-5766; www.parkson.com

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BNR technology introduced into conventional activated system

Problem

After new regulations from the Ohio EPA and the Tuscarawas River Total Maximum Daily Load report, the city of Massillon Wastewater Treatment Plant had to increase flow capacity from 15.8 mgd to 17 mgd and meet a total nitrogen limit of 10 mg/L and a total phosphorus limit of 1 mg/L.

Solution

The city chose the AnoxKaldnes Hybas IFAS system from Veolia Water Technologies. The hybrid process that combines the AnoxKaldnes biofilm technology and activated sludge in the same tank, facilitating creation of additional biomass to meet more stringent effluent standards and increased flow and loading without new tank construction. The design team turned the trickling filter/oxidation ditch into an IFAS-A2O process. To achieve and maximize biological phosphorus removal and denitrification, small anaerobic and pre-anoxic zones were constructed downstream of the primary clarifiers and upstream of the existing aeration tanks. The retrofitted system kept the plant’s three-train design. Each train has an anaerobic zone and two pre-anoxic zones, followed by one IFAS zone and one deox zone.

RESULT:

The plant consistently meets its permit limits, producing effluent below 6.0 mg/L BOD₅, 02. mg/L ammonia, 8.6 mg/L total nitrogen and 0.3 mg/L phosphorus. 919-677-8310; www.veoliawatertech.com