Montana WWTP Saves Money on Phosphorus Reduction Using Brewery Barley

Beer breweries are increasing in popularity throughout the U.S. and can pose complications for treatment plants receiving their wastewater. Recently, a wastewater plant in Montana realized it’s not such a bad thing after all and took advantage of the waste supply from a local brewery. In 2016, Havre, Montana’s wastewater treatment plant upgraded to a biological nutrient removal (BNR) system, but the upgrades weren’t enough to remove sufficient amounts of phosphorus. To improve the plant more, facility superintendent Drue Newfield began to research more about phosphorus accumulating organisms and specifically their need for volatile fatty acids (VFAs). “We were told we don’t have