Problem: The island nation of Jamaica needed more power to satisfy peak demands and prepare for future base-capacity requirements. Generating the incremental 125 MW required large quantities of clean water, a scarce commodity.
Solution: The Mirant Corporation reached out to Headworks International for an ActiveCell moving bed biofilm reactor to treat municipal wastewater suitable for reuse at the power station. The technology uses thousands of polyethylene biofilm carriers in mixed motion in an aerated. Each piece of media provides a protected surface area to support the dense growth of bacteria that achieve high-rate biodegradation with process reliability and ease of operation. Headworks proposed a three-stage biological process to nitrate, followed by positive flotation to removed phosphate and TSS. The plant treats up to 1.8 mgd from the Bogue wastewater treatment plant a few miles away. The system consists of three ActiveCell bioreactors in series designed to yield 10 mg/L BOD and less than 2 mg/L nitrogen. Next, the effluent is fed to a dissolved air flotation system for TSS removal.
Result: The process reduced BOD, ammonia and TSS levels. 713-647-6667; www.headworksintl.com
