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Management of Biosolids from

Municipal Wastewater Treatment

Environmental Capstone

December 12, 2009

Lauren Davis, Olivia De Lancie, Emily Madara, Charlotte Eloise Stancioff, Laura Stephenson, Alice Wang, Alex Whittington, Irene Ziri

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Orange Water and Sewage Authority

OWASA is the

community-owned,

non-profit agency

that provides public

drinking water and

wastewater services

to the Chapel Hill-

Carrboro community

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Biosolids Management

• Mason Farm WWTP treats ~ 7.5 million gallons of sewage per day

• Biosolids are produced as a byproduct of wastewater treatment through a high temperature anaerobic digestion process. Dewatered and liquid biosolids are then applied to agricultural lands in Orange, Chatham, and Alamance counties.

• Though OWASA’s treated biosolids have low levels of pathogens and harmful metals, the long-term health effects of land application remain unknown.

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Project Goals

• Assess human and environmental health risks of biosolids land application

• Research and rank treatment methods and alternatives to biosolids land application

• Conduct community interviews to learn public perception of biosolids land application

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Health Effects of Biosolids

Land Application

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Health Effects of Biosolids Land Application

• Land Application Rules governed by EPA Part 503

• No epidemiological or environmental studies were conducted

• “Additional scientific work is needed to reduce persistent uncertainty about the potential for adverse human health effects from exposure to biosolids.” (National Academy of Sciences, 2002)

• Recommendations:

- public outreach

- treatment options

- alternatives

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Alternatives to Land

Application

Composting

SlurryCarb

Microbial Fuel Cells Thermal Drying

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Alternative 1: Composting

• Composting of wastewater is a bio-thermal aerobic process that decomposes the organic portion of the residuals

• Use of microorganisms results in a product free of pathogens that is easy to store and sell as organic fertilizer

• Costs = $6.2 to $13 million

Composting is our #1

recommended alternative due

to its environmental benefits,

reductions of health concerns,

and available opportunities for

partnerships with other

organizations

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Different Methods of Composting

1. Aerated Pile

2. Windrow

3. In-Vessel or

Aerated Static

Pile

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Advantages

It can conveniently

store a large volume of material

Heat produced during

decomposition destroys many

of the pathogens and pollutants

Uses very little external energy

Less equipment and maintenance

needed than other methods

Disadvantages

Difficult to extract heavy metals

Start up cost can be expensive

Large amount of land for

composting

Salmonella can regrow to a limited

extent in finished compost

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Alternative 2: Thermal Drying

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Advantages

Mass and volume reduction

Wide range of market options that can provide revenue from sale

of dry material

A well-proven, successful technology

Easily combined with anaerobic

digestion to provide a nearly

self-fueling process

Disadvantages

High capital and O&M cost

High energy requirement

Is subject to fluctuations in cost of auxiliary fuel

Requires air permitting and air pollution control

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Pre & Post Treatment Options for

Biosolids Land Application

Struvite Harvesting Ultra Sonic Mycotechnology

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Treatment 1: Struvite Harvesting

The Ostara Nutrient Recovery Process

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Advantages

Reductions in nitrogen & phosphorous

loading to eliminate algal blooms

and eutrophication

Sludge volume reduction

Struvite scale prevention

Production of an environmentally-

friendly fertilizer

Disadvantages

Large capital investment ($2 million) that

will be recovered from operation and

maintenance cost savings in 3-5

years.

While it does reduce the amount of

chemicals applied to the land, this

technology is not a true alternative

to land application.

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Treatment 2: Ultrasonic Sludge Treatment

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Advantages

High efficiency of pathogen cell destruction

Increase (30-45%) in biogas production could produce as much

as 240 million m3 of gas or 480 GWh/yr of "green" electricity

Reduces sludge volume (5-25%) and minimizes sludge cake quantity

(25-40%)

Improved degradation of organic material (30-45%)

Enhanced biological nutrient removal with less sludge, improved sludge

stabilization, enhanced dewaterability

Disadvantages

Energy intensive

Expensive initial costs as well as higher maintenance costs (if

renewable energy not captured efficiently)

No full-scale installations in the United States

Requires constant bulk modulus of elasticity and no gas bubbles in

process fluid

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Treatment 3: Mycotechnology

Mycofiltration: water filtration of bacteria, silt, and other contaminants utilizing mushroom mycelium.

Mycoremediation: soil remediation utilizing mushroom mycelium to denature toxic wastes (including hyperaccumulation of heavy metals).

“Example of a mycofiltered manure holding pond.” http://www.fungi.com/mycotech/farmwaste.html

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Advantages

Has potential to greatly reduce adverse public health and

environmental effects

Relatively low start-up cost

Little to no maintenance

Promising results in similar project involving mycofiltration used to treat water contaminated with

manure runoff from farms

Disadvantages

No known case studies involving mycotechnology used for

treating waste water treatment plants’ land applied biosolids

Hyperaccumulation of heavy metals in the mushroom

fruitbody – unknown concentration of metals;

fruitbodies must be annually harvested

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Key Informant Interviews

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Key Informant

• A person “who can provide information about the community or the particular topic in which they are interested and who can link them with other knowledgeable people.”

• Applied to our project, key informant interviews will be important for learning about the knowledge, views, and attitudes toward land-application of biosolids

• Rural residents, elected officials, researchers, and an agricultural operator

• Process, limitations and future possibility

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Common Themes from Interviews

• Lack of Research

• Lack of Regulation

• Lack of Alternatives

• Blind Eye

• Health Concerns

• Forum/Discussion

• Public Outreach/Awareness

• Possible Alternatives/Solutions

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Interview Results

• All Key Informants agree on the possible public

health risks posed by land application

• This indicates a need for unbiased research to

strengthen regulations

• Regulation needs to be enforced

– Ex: Alamance County

• Most key informants support the idea of land

application

– However, we need “Modern Treatment Systems for Modern

Waste Streams”

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Conclusions

• Human health risk

• In the long-run, move away from land application and

invest in alternatives

– Composting

• In the meantime, treatment options

– Struvite Harvesting

• Interviews: need for increasing regulation, research,

and discussion into contaminants of emerging

concerns present in biosolids

• OWASA is not alone in the search for biosolids

alternatives

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