BiOWiSH™ Aqua Benefits

• Reducessludgeproductionandhandling

• Increasesplantcapacitybyreducingcontacttime

• Eliminatesodorousemissions

• Deliverssubstantialenergysavingsduetoreducedaeration

• Minimizesneedforchemicaladditives

• Stabilizesandimprovesplanttreatmentperformance

• Lowershydrogensulphide,ammoniaandnitratelevels

• Pre-treatsinfluentincollectionsystems

• 100%naturalandnon-toxic

Available Sizes

• 100g/3.5oz

• 1kg/2.2lb

Wastewater Treatment

Case Study

Thatchers Cider Company Ltd, United Kingdom

Background

ThatchersCiderCompanyLtdisamanufacturerofciderandfruitjuicessituatedinthecountyofSomerset,UKwithanestimatedannual(cider)productionofaround28millionlitres.Effluentfromciderandjuiceproductionistreatedataseparatesitesituatedhalfamilefromthefactory.Theeffluentispumpedthroughaprivate4inchmaintothe11acretreatmentsite.

TheschematicofeffluenttreatmentisshowninFigure1.TreatedeffluentispumpedintothepublicsewerfortreatmentanddisposalatWeston-super-Maremunicipalsewagetreatmentworks.

Figure 1. Schematic of Effluent System

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Lagoon 1: primary lagoon

Lagoon 2: storage lagoon

Lagoon 3: primary aeration lagoon

Lagoon 4: secondary aeration lagoon

Lagoon 5: final effluent lagoon

Biological Help for the Human Race™

Biological Help for the Human Race™

Productionatthefactoryisdividedintotwokeyparts.

1. Theon-goingmanufactureofciderfromapplejuice;thistakesplaceallyearround

2. Theprocessingoffruittoproduceciderandotherproductssuchasblackcurrantjuice;thistakesplacefromJulytoDecember

Bothoftheseprocessesproduceeffluentresultingfromthewashingandcleaningofprocessequipment,fruitandproductpackaging.

Theorganicstrengthofeffluentproducedduringthemanufactureofciderisapproximatelydoublethatoftheeffluentproducedduringfruitprocessing.Fruitprocessingusesevaporatorstoreducethevolumeofthejuiceforlongtermstorage;theresultingeffluentisdilutedbylargevolumesofcondensateandissignificantlyweakerinstrength.

Effluentfromthevariousproductionprocessesaredischargedviathefactorydrainagesystemintoalargesump.Itisthenpumpedtothetreatmentsiteusingaseriesoffloatstoregulatetheflow.

AsaresultoftheseasonalnatureofThatchers’ciderprocessing,theeffluentdischargedfromthesetwoproductionregimesrequireatreatmentsystemthatcanaccomodatealargevariationinflowandload.

Objectives

ThetwomainenvironmentalobjectivesofThatchers’were:

• Odorcontrol

• Sludgereduction

Thetreatmentsitecontainsalargevolumeofstoreduntreatedeffluent.Thiscreatesstrongodors,especiallyduringwarmweather.Theeliminationoftheseodorsisahighpriority.

Theremovalanddisposalofwastesludgeisexpensive,typically£250/tanker(US$410/tanker),withuptofourloadsaweekduringthehighseason.ThatcherswereobviouslykeentoreducethesecostsandtheydecidedtotrialBiOWiSH™ AquaforaninitialperiodofsixweeksbeginninginMay.

Results

Odor Reduction

BiOWiSH™hasreducedtheodoremanatingfromtheprimarylagoon.Theinstallationoftheaeratorwasbeneficialandaideddistributionofthebiocatalysts.Duringpeakflows,odorfromthestoragelagoonhadalsodiminished.However,asproductiondecreasedandthefactorydischargedeclined,thespilloverofeffluentfromtheprimarytothestoragelagoonreducedtoalowdailyvolume(328m3insummerto123m3inwinter).Thisresultedinanincreaseinodorbecauseinsufficientbiocatalystswerebeingtransferredtothestoragelagoonduringlowflowconditions.Tocounterthisoutcome,BiOWiSH™dosingwasmodifiedsothat1kgwasdividedequallybetweenthethreelagoons.Theodoremanatingfromthestoragelagoonhassinceimproved.

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Sludge Reduction

TheapplicationofBiOWiSH™hasbeenhighlysuccessfulinbreakingdownorganicmatter,therebyreducingsludge.Thisoutcomehasbeenobservedintheprimaryandaerationlagoons.

PriortotheapplicationofBiOWiSH™,thesludgelevelintheprimarylagoonwas0.4mabovethebase,amajorsourceofodorandsepticity.Throughouttheapplicationperiod,dipsweretakenandsludgelevelsmeasured.InJanuary,thesludgelevelwasmeasuredat0.15mabovebase.

Thereductioninmixedliquorsolidsintheprimaryaerationlagooncanbemeasuredbythevolumeofsludgesettlingintheclarifiers.Onaverage,throughouttheBiOWiSH™applicationperiod,75%ofsettledsludgehasbeeneliminated.Thesludgereductionisalsodepictedbythenumberoftankerloadstakenoff-sitefromThatchersasshowninFigures2and3.Theremaining25%ofsettledsludgeisnowreturnedtotheaerationlagoontomaintainthebiomass.

Increase in Biological Capacity

AlthoughgeneraleffluentqualityhasremainedstaticafterusingBiOWiSH™,thebiologicalloadingtotheaerationlagoonshasbeenincreased.ThiswasparticularlynoticeableduringearlyNovemberwhentheeffluentstrengthinthestoragelagoonexceeded7000mg/landthetemperaturewaslow.Atthistime,flowtotreatmentwasrunningat173m3/day,equatingto1211kgCOD/day.Duringthewinter,evenwithmixedliquortemperatureat3.50C,biologicalactivitywastakingplacealbeitatalowerflowrateof123m3/day.

Improvement in Process Stability

TheadditionofBiOWiSH™hasimprovedthestabilityofthebiologicalprocessintheprimaryaerationlagoon.Overweekendswithnooperationalinput,thequalityoftheeffluentremainssteady.Itisalsonoticeableafterovernightpowercuts,thattheprocessquicklyreturnstonormaloncepowerisreinstated.Thebiologicalprocessisnowabletoadapttoshockloadingwithoutnegativeimpact–thisresultisnoticeablewhenexcessivesludgeisreturnedtothesystemfollowingtheweekend.

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Figure 2. Reduction in Solids using BiOWiSH™ Figure 3. Reduction in Solids using BiOWiSH™

Biological Help for the Human Race™

Removal of Algal Bloom

Throughoutthisexercise,includingthetrialperiod,littlehasbeenstatedregardingtheoverallperformanceofthetreatmentprocesses,particularly,thefinaleffluentquality.ThereasonisthatBiOWiSH™hashadlittleimpactontheeffluentqualitydownstreamoftheclarifiers.ThequalityremainswellwithinconsentlimitsasitwaspriortoBiOWiSH™dosing.ThatcherseffluenttreatmentplantperformanceisasshowninFigure4.

Thereis,however,onenotabledifference:theremovalofalgalbloom.Thealgaedevelopsinthefinallagoonduringthesummer,wheneffluentqualityisgood,especiallyafterseveraldaysofstrongsunlight.Asaresult,theeffluentmaydoubleinstrengthandhasasignificantimpactontradeeffluentcharges.ThealgalbloomwasabsentduringtheBiOWiSH™dosingperiod.

Conclusions

Insummary,thetwokeyreasonsfortriallingBiOWiSH™ Aquawasthepotentialtoeliminateodorandtoreducesludgeproduction.Bothobjectiveshavebeenbroadlyachieved.Sludgereduction(75%),hasbeenhighlysuccessful,asdemonstratedbythefallintankerreceipts.

OtherbenefitsassociatedwithBiOWiSH™areabonus,namely,processstabilityandtheremovalofalgaefromthefinaleffluentlagoon.

ThemaincostfactorassociatedwiththedosingofBiOWiSH™isthecomparisonoftheannualcostoftheproductandthecostofremovingsurplussludge.DuringtheBiOWiSH™trial,thevolumeofsurplussludgeremovedoff-sitewas25%ofthevolumenormallyexpected.ThisvalueislikelytodecreaseasexperienceisgainedusingBiOWiSH™andthebiocatalystsreachtheirfullpotentialthroughthesystem.

SincethetrialbeganinMay,ThatchershasbeenusingBiOWiSH™foreightmonths.Muchoftheearlypartoftheprogrammehasrequiredchangestothestartermake-up,dosingschedule,distributionoftheproduct,thedailysludgereturnandageneraladaptationtothenewprocess(refertothesucceedingsectionformoredetails).ThefullevaluationofhowBiOWiSH™reactstothetreatmentprocessisstillongoing.

Figure 4. Effluent Treatment Plant Performance

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Biological Help for the Human Race™

TheThatcherslagoonsystemisamajorfactorwhenanalysingthecostofdosingBiOWiSH™.Thelargevolumeofuntreatedeffluentintheprimaryandstoragelagoonsassimilatedallshockdosesandrequiredconsiderablymoreproductthancomparedwithaconventional24hrbalancedsystem.However,oncestabilised,alowerdaily‘workingconcentration’of1kgwasshowntobeeffective.Onthisbasis,comparativecostsmaybederived.

• AnnualcostofsurplussludgedisposalwithouttreatmentwithBiOWiSH™ Aqua:65tankers/annum@£250/tanker=£16250(US$26650)

• AnnualcostofBiOWiSH™ Aquaat£60/kg@6kg/week=£18720(US$31200).AnnualcostofsurplussludgedisposalwithBiOWiSH™dosing=£3000(US$4900).Totalannualcost=£21720(US$35500).

Therewasnosignificantimprovementinthequalityofthefinaleffluent.Therefore,noreductionintradeeffluentchargescouldbeattributedtoBiOWiSH™dosing.However,theeliminationofalgaefromthefinaleffluentlagoonsavedtheannualcostofpurchasing4kgofgeneralpurposebacteria(£350)(US$570).

ThefiguresaboveshowthattheannualcostusingBiOWiSH™ Aquaismoreexpensivethanthepreviousconventionalmethodofeffluenttreatment.Theextracostis£5120/annum(US$8350).Thisincreaseshouldbeconsideredasthecostofeliminatingodorsfromthesite,amajorenvironmentalfactorassociatedwitheffluenttreatmentandafundamentalobjectiveofThatchersCider.

Implementation Program

Thatchers’effluenttreatmentprocessisunusualbecauseofthelargevolumeofstoragecapacity.Whenfull,thestoragelagooncontainsaverylargeorganicloadand,unlikeanormaldaytodaydischarge,theBiOWiSH™dosingscheduleshouldreflectthiscondition.Onthisbasisitwasdecidedtoshockdosetheprimaryandstoragelagoonswiththeproductonadiminishingscaleandaddadailydoseof2mg/ltotheprimarylagoon.Theassumptionwasthatthebiocatalyticactivitywouldtransferthroughtotheprimaryaerationlagoonandtheremainingprocesses.Organicstrengthinthestoragelagoonatthistimewas4100mg/lCODwithaflowratetotheaerationlagoonof328m3/day.

TheBiOWiSH™starterwasmixedwithwateratbetween5g/land10g/landthetemperaturemaintainedabove150C.Thestarterwasdistributedatvariouspointsaroundtheperimeterofthelagoonstoaidmixing.

ThisinitialtrialwhichbeganinMaywasonlypartiallysuccessful.Theodorwassomewhatreducedandthemixedliquorqualityintheaerationlagoonimproved,resultinginanincreaseinpHfrom7.9to8.1understableconditions.However,nonoticeablechangewasobservedinthevolumeofsludgeproduced.Afterconsideration,thelowstart-upmixturetemperature,theinsufficiencyofdaytodaydosingandtheincorrectdosinglocationwerethefactorsthatcontributedtothisoutcome.

However,itsoonbecameapparentthattheshockloadingofBiOWiSH™hadbeenassimilatedbythelargemassoforganicmattercontainedinthetwolagoons–theprimarylagooncontainedsludgethatwasapproximately0.5mindepth;hence,insufficientBiOWiSH™activitywasreachingtheaerationprocessdespitedosingatanestablishedrateof2mg/l.

Withtheendofthetrialapproachingadecisionwasmade,basedontheexperiencegained,tocontinuewithBiOWiSH™.Thedosingregimewasamendedsothattheproductwouldbesharedbetweentheprimarylagoonandtheprimaryaerationlagoon.ItwasconsideredthatBiOWiSH™wouldbe,initially,farmoreeffectiveinreducingsludgeifitweredoseddirectlyintothebiologicalprocess.Continuationwithdosingatthefrontendasbeforewouldalsocontroltheodorissue.

Theseassumptionsturnedouttobebroadlycorrect,andwiththeknowledgethatdosingwasrelatedtoloadandnotflow,theaerationprocesswastransformed.ThiswasinAugustwhenThatchershighseason’sproductionhadbeenrunningforaboutamonth.

Withinfourdaysofdosingintotheaerationlagoon,thevolumeofmixedliquorbegantoreduce;thiswasnoticeablewhenemptyingtheclarifiers.Settleabilityofthesludgeimproved,producingadensersludgeandaclearerinterfacebetweensludgeandliquid.ThepHofthemixedliquorsteadiedat8.2to8.3,andthegeneralstabilityoftheprocessimproved,allowinganincreaseinbiologicalloadingwithoutdetriment.

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BiOWiSH™dosing,atthisstage,was1kg/dayintheprimarylagoonand500g/dayintheprimaryaerationlagoon.Thehighdosingoftheprimarylagoonwascontinuedbecauseoftheanaerobicconditions.Considerableactivitywasrequiredtoreducethevolumeofsludgeandkeeptheodorundercontrol.

Aftertwoweeks,thevolumeofsludgeintheclarifiersreducedby75%.Mostofthesludgewasreturnedtotheaerationlagoontomaximisebiologicalactivity.

Thedosingschedulecontinuedthroughouttheseasonwhenproductionchangedfromblackcurranttoappleprocessing.Theeffluentfromappleprocessingexertsgreaterorganicloadingsandcanbeproblematictotreat.However,thebiologicalactivityintheaerationlagoonwassustainedintheearlystageswithpHholdingupataflowrateof328m3/dayandCODof4750mg/l.Asexpected,withtheseasonprogressing,theambienttemperaturestarteddroppingandbymid-Octobertheraweffluentstrengthintheprimarylagoonincreasedto10000mg/l.Theeffluentfeedtotheaerationlagoonincreasedto5750mg/l.AtthisstagedistributionofBiOWiSH™intheprimarylagoonwasconsideredinadequate,soasmall1.5kwsurfaceaeratorwasinstalled.Theaimwastoimprovemixingandminimisesepticity.

ByearlyNovember,organicstrengthinthestoragelagoonhadincreasedto7000mg/lrequiringtheflowratetotheaerationlagoontobereducedto172m3/day.

ThedecisionwastakentoreduceBiOWiSH™dosingbecauseofthelongtermcostvstreatmentfactors.Thedosingwasreducedto1kg/dsharedequallybetweentheprimaryandaerationlagoon.

Afurtherreductionintheflowratetotheaerationlagoonwasrequired(to144m3/day)becauseofthedecliningambienttemperatureandtheconsequentreductioninactivity–droppingpHlevels,increasingCODconcentrationsandpoorersludgesettlementallindicatingthefalloffineffluentquality.

DuringmuchofDecember,ambienttemperaturesremainedbelow00C,causingbiologicalactivitytofurtherdecline.Organicstrengthofthestoragelagoonpeakedat7750mg/landflowtotreatmentwasreducedto123m3/d.However,effluentstrengthintheprimarylagoonhaddecreasedfrom10000mg/lto7000mg/lasaresultoftheimproveddistribution(aerator)ofBiOWiSH™andthereductioninraweffluentflowfromthefactory.

ThroughoutJanuary,effluenttreatmenthasremainedsteadywithallsludgereturnedtotheaerationlagoonandfinaleffluentqualitywithinconsentlimits.

Duringthewintermonths,theBiOWiSH™startersolutionwasheatedtobetween200and250Candthedosingmaintainedatarateof1kg/day.

Contacts

BiOWiSH Technologies

Email:environment@biowishtech.com

Adrian Cook

Simply Environmental

M:+447818553234

T:+441275871103

E:adriancook@simplyenvironmental.co.uk

W:www.simplyenvironmental.co.uk

CSWT26JU11INT

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