emerging technologies in onsite wastewater …...emerging technologies in onsite wastewater...

Emerging Technologies in Onsite

Wastewater Treatment

Gordon Balch

Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment, Fleming College, Lindsay,

Alberta Onsite Wastewater Management Association: Convention and Trade Show

Friday, March 6th, 2015, Edmonton, Alberta

Overview Opportunities for Rural Growth through Sustainable Service

• Framework (Building Code)

• Advanced Treatment Systems

– domestic

– Customized (alternative systems)

• CAWT Testing

• Future Trends / Needs

2

Ont. Building Code

Part 8: Sewage Systems

• Building code regulates a number of different

classes of onsite treatment systems

• Class 4 is most common and is intended to

minimize pathogens released into the

environment

– can include secondary and tertiary (advanced)

treatment systems located between septic tank

and leaching bed

3

Advanced Treatment Systems

4

5


Advantages • provide the opportunity to service sites not suited for conventional septic systems

• Better treatment

• may extend the life of an existing leaching bed

• take up less room in the yard

• require mandatory maintenance (ensures the unit is functioning properly)

• may reduce nutrient output (depending on type)

Disadvantages • may be more expensive to purchase and install

• more expensive to operate (e.g. yearly electrical costs, media replacement)

• mechanical parts that can break down or need replacement

• requires mandatory maintenance (increases costs)

Conventional Septic System

6

septic tank pipe

30-50% treatment in septic tank 50-70% treatment in soil

Pre-treatment Final Distribution and Soil Treatment Absorption trench or filter bed

SepticSmart 2010

advanced treatment unit

gravity or pump flow

Area Bed

pre-treatment tank*

stone

sand

pipe

native soil

saturated soil

Advanced Treatment System

7 SepticSmart 2010

Pre-treatment Final Distribution and Soil Treatment Shallow Buried Trench

10% treatment in soil 90% treatment in septic tank


Intent of ATS:

• To mitigate site impediments to installation (e.g.,

heavy clays, shallow soils, limited space, high

water table, etc.)

• To provide added protection (nutrient

abatement) to at-risk sites (e.g., nutrient

sensitive lakes, ground waters, etc.)

8

Approval Criteria for ATS

Must meet performance criteria set out by

building code

– testing and certification by the NSF International

(U.S.-based) standard

– consideration of Ontario’s environmental/climatic

conditions

– evidence of in-field performance.

9

Evaluation of ATS Technologies

• Treatment unit technologies were evaluated

by MMAH

• List of approved treatment units found in

Supplementary Standard SB-5 to the Building

Code

• All currently approved systems incorporate

microbial treatment and or physical filtration

10

SB-5 (Ontario): Advanced Treatment

Units

Suspended Growth

• Aquarobic Canada

• Aqua Safe and Aqua Air

• Biocycle Aerated Wastewater System

• Clearstream Treatment Systems

• Norweco Singulair Treatment Systems

• Whitewater Treatment Systems

• WSB® Clean Treatment Systems

11


Units

Attached Growth

• Bio-Microbics — FAST®Wastewater Treatment Systems

• Bionest Technologies Inc.

• Nayadic Wastewater Treatment Systems

• Rotordisk Wastewater Systems

12


Units Synthetic Media Filter

• Orenco AdvanTex® Wastewater Treatment System

• Waterloo Biofilter Treatment Systems

Peat Filter

• Premier Tech Environment — Ecoflo Biofilter Treatment Systems

• Puraflo® Peat Fiber Biofilter Treatment Systems

Sand Filter

• Orenco Treatment Systems

13

Alberta manufacturers/parent companies authorized to sell their

NSF 40 Class 1 Sewage Treatment Plants.

14

Treatment Plant Manufacturer/Parent Company

AdvanTex Orenco Systems Inc.

Bionest Bionest Technologies Inc.

Aero-Tech Aero-Tech

Singulair Norweco Inc.


Mo-Dad Acquired Wastewater Technologies, LLC

AdvanTex Orenco Systems Inc.


Fast Bio-Microbics Inc.

Ecopod Pentair (formerly Delta Environmental Products)

Ecoflo Bioflo Premier Tech Technologies Limited

SludgeHammer SludgeHammer Group Ltd.


Pro Flo Pro Flo Aerobic Systems, LP

Jet Bat Jet Inc.

Bionest Bionest Technologies Inc.

Waterloo Biofilter

15

There are different configuration depending on the

wastewater constituents and desired treatment level

CANWEST tanks & ecological systems

Ltd. Surry, BC

16

17

1

2

3

4

5

6

1. Primary Clarification

2. Moving Bed Bioreactor

3. Aeration

4. Final Clarification

5. Sludge Return

6. Outlet

WSB® clean Septic System

CAN/BNQ 3680-600

• CAN/BNQ 3680-600, “Onsite Residential Wastewater Treatment Technologies” is the new national standard for testing wastewater residential treatment technologies.

• This standard will replace the current criteria for treatment units set out in the Ontario Building Code, and the list of treatment units found in Supplementary Standard SB-5 which are deemed to meet these Code requirements. [to be revoked Jan 1/17]

18

Treatment Options Domestic

Conventional Septic Systems

Advanced Wastewater Treatment

• Microbial (suspended or fixed) ± aeration

• Physical filtration ± aeration

Alternative Constructed Wetlands

Engineered Bio Reactors (e.g., S-reducing Bacteria for Arsenic)

Sportive media for Phosphorus

Moving Bed Bio Reactors for Oxidized N

Ozone

UV

Hybridized nano-membranes with nanoparticles

others

19

Specialized (site-specific)Treatment

Needs

• Complexity of waste stream is increasing

• Greater need for site specific treatment options

– reduce treatment burden on existing systems (e.g.,

high BOD from brewery industry)

– Meet industry specific needs (aquaculture, mining,

health care, etc.)

• Ozone, sulfur reducing bioreactors, hybridized

constructed wetlands, etc., all showing promise

21

Enhanced Nitrogen Removal

(stationary fixed film)

22

Anoxic Aerobic Clarifier

Denitrification Nitrification

+

BOD removal

Denitrification • 2.3 g BOD per g NO3-N

• 3.02 g organic matter per g NO3-N

• Heterotrophic bacteria for generation of carbon source

• Significant portion of BOD generally consumed during nitrification, leaving little for

denitrification

High in

BOD &

NH4

Return unconsumed Carbon

Moving Bed BioReactor

(MBBR)

23

• Small foot

print

• Very efficient

• Up to 5Xs

biofilm

• Does require

pumps and

aeration

Phosphate Removal

adsorption, precipitation

24

H2PO4- + Fe Fe

O

O

Fe

O

Fe

O P

O

O

H

O

H Adsorption (Fe, Al, Mn oxides)

Precipitation (Fe, Ca, Al phosphates)

Variety of Sources and Manufactures

• Blast furnace steel slag

• Oxide rich natural clays

• Manufactured oxides (Al, Fe, mixtures)

Phosphorous adsorptive media

for Stormwater runoff

25

• Adsorptive media can also be used in advanced treatment systems (residential)

• Work is proceeding in looking at ways to incorporate and regenerate media

Mining Sector

26

Arsenic Removal from Tailings Waters

Engineered wetland to

complex dissolved

Arsenic with Sulfur with

the use of bacteria

Use of sulfur reducing

bacteria

Agriculture Sector

27

CUI2I – Agriculture Wastewaters • Greenhouse wastewaters rich in Cl-, SO4

2-, Na,+

K+, Ca++

• High in Nitrates and Sulfates

• Employ salt hyper-accumulating plants,

denitrification reactors (removing NO3 and

convert SO4 to H2S) College-University idea to innovation Grants

Aquaculture Sector

28

Land Based fish farm • Solids

• Nutrients (N & P)

• Fish pathogens

Trickle Filters

29

• High removal rate of

BOD, Nitrogen, TSS

• Aerobic and anaerobic

zones

• Food wastes,

aquaculture

applications (e.g.

winery wastes)

• Sewer by-laws

Advanced On-Site Treatment

30

• Ozone

• Pressure differentials

• Poly-filter

• Granulated activated carbon

filter

• Nutrients (N & P)

• TSS

• BOD

• Pathogens

• PPCPs

31

Overview of System

Off gas &

destruct

Results: Selected PPCPs (ppt)

32

0 200 400 600 800 1000

Levonargestrel

Progesterone

Medroxyprogesterone

Aspartame

Diclofenac

Carbamazepine

Trimethoprim

Sulfamethoxazole

Influent Effluent

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

n.d.

Concentration (ng L-1) Mean ± SD

33

Constructed Wetlands

• Man-made with specific design specifications

• Intended to treat domestic waste using natural processes – Filtration / sedimentation

– Microbial oxidation / transformation

– Chemical processes

– Adsorption / absorption

34

Hybridized Constructed Wetlands

Flow = 40 m3/d; Inlet COD = 1000 mg/L & NH3 = 1000 mg /L

Each line consists of:

1. SFS-v (e.g.,VSSF) stage with a superficial peat layer to ensure odor remove, leachate pre-

oxidation and metals precipitation;

2. Two stage SFS-v in series for nitrification (add O2) and organic load removal (e.g., BOD);

3. Two stage SFS-h (e.g., HSSF) in series for denitrification (remove O2) and removal of persistent

organic compounds;

4. A stage FWS to complete the denitrification and the organic compounds removal and to

enhance the evapotranspiration;

5. A final detention pond to accumulate the effluent and enhance the evapotranspiration.

The system is designed to ensure high removal rates (>90-95% COD and NH3), and a good

reduction of the effluent due to evapotranspiration.

Future Trends (???)

35

North America

Wastewater Infrastructure Deficit

36

• Wastewater

infrastructure deficit in

2 Provinces and 8 US

states is $10 billion

• $90 billion needed in

next 10 y (2007) to

replace and upgrade

Canada wide

Great Lakes Commission – 2007 report

Aging municipal infrastructure

37

When Bigger Isn’t Better: Decentralized Wastewater

Treatment Systems (On. Environ. Commissioner 2009)

• Small or rural communities in Ontario faced with:

– Increasing population

– Climate change

– Stricter environmental regulations

• A call for decentralized systems

Waste Generation from DWWT

38

• 1980 USA census – 3.8 trillion L per year to vadose zone (US EPA 1987)

• 25-30% of households in USA are served by septic systems (Bremer & Harter 2012)

• 22% of Canadians utilize on-site systems (Richardson & Fulton 2009)

Septic system leachate represents the largest

unregulated source of wastewater

1st everything

(1,385 km diameter)

2nd groundwater, fresh

surface water

(272.8 km diameter)

3rd fresh water in lakes

and rivers

(56.2 km diameter) Source: Scientific American

Global

Water

Supply

40

Cluster Systems

Cluster systems are generally used to collect

wastewater from a small cluster of homes

• Waste is transported to the

site of treatment via

alternative sewers

• The transported wastewater is

treated at either a

conventional treatment system

or receives pre-treatment prior

to soil absorption of the

pretreated effluent

41

Final disposal to Wetland and

Drainfield

42

Application of Cluster Systems

• There can be many reasons

to install a cluster systems

• Most often installed because

the land size of individual

properties is not large

enough to accommodate an

on-site system OR

• Because the financial cost

for construction of a

conventional treatment

plant is not feasible

Small rural areas

43

Human Health

Concerns

• Methaemoglobinaemia

• Cancers (increased risk)

• Thyroid disruption

2013

May see a

greater emphasis

on removal of

Nitrates

Phosphorus ???

44

• Phosphorous

not strongly

linked to human

health

• Most issues are

impacts to

surface waters

• Cyanobacteria ?

• Present

concerns are

focused on

agriculture,

stormwater, etc.

Concluding Remarks

• Demand for decentralized treatment likely to

increase

• Demand for specialized treatment to off-load

burden to centralized systems may increase

• May see greater need for advanced treatment

systems for Nitrate and Phosphorous in

relationship to source water protection

45

Questions

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world

around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what

kind of difference you want to make.” — Jane Goodall

46

native soil

advanced treatment

unit

pump

chamber pressure flow

pressure pipe and chamber

pre-treatment

tank*

Advanced treatment units use oxygen

to enhance treatment.

saturated soil

47

Advanced Treatment System

Pre-treatment Final Distribution and Soil Treatment Shallow Buried Trench

SepticSmart 2010

90% treatment in septic tank 10% treatment in soil

48

Smaller foot print of advanced treatment

systems

conventional advanced

WSB Clean

Disposal Challenges

49

• Regulatory oversight / requirements increasing

– post Walkerton

– Ont. Environ Protection Act, Ont. Clean Water Act, etc.

• Complexity of wastewater increasing

– Pharmaceuticals and personal care products

• Increasing number of wastewater sources

– Petroleum, agra-farms, aquaculture, etc.

• Treatment Costs Increasing

emerging technologies in onsite wastewater …...emerging technologies in onsite wastewater...

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