Name
FOG mitigation and AS process optimisation with bioaugmentation
Description
In a racetrack orientation activated sludge plant FGX3 mitigates fat, oil, and grease deposits and keeps them in a form that is more manageable. By dosing FGX3, a yeast extract bioaugmentation formulation, directly on top of the area where FOG accumulates. Although this additional breakdown of FOG could have increased the plant’s effluent concentrations, FGX3’s downstream secondary effects prevented this impact and further reduced certain effluent concentrations that were measured daily. After FGX3 was introduced, the plant consistently needed less air to meet the same conditions, and effluent orthophosphates and nitrates trended lower. These findings hold both in simple comparisons and increase in significance when accounting for daily plant conditions (load, MLSS, influent ammonia, basin temperature, blower hours), which further supports that these beneficial changes are direct effects of FGX3’s treatment. With the energy costs provided by the plant, the process model estimated that site aeration and mechanical mixing accounts for 40% of the site average power usage. An energy saving of $20,000 per year was forecasted.
Authors
Ray Taylor and Sydney Fox, Nextfiltration Inc, USA
Jose Gonzalez, Univar Water Solutions, USA