Microvi and Oro Loma/Castro Valley Sanitary Districts (OLSD/CVSan) have commissioned the first dewatered filtrate (sidestream) treatment system in the Pacific Coast Region of the United States. The 12 million-gallons-per-day plant uses Microvi’s MNE technology to reduce OLSD’s nitrogen discharge to the San Francisco Bay by up to 400,000 pounds per year.
The project was funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and OLSD/CVSan and is a significant collaboration between Microvi, OLSD, CVSan, HDR Inc. (consulting engineer), EKI Environment and Water Inc. (project design engineer). The system will reduce the nutrient load from OLSD by 8,000,000 pounds over 20 years. This project also established a local internship program to provide training and career pathways into the wastewater industry.
Oro Loma Sanitary District Board President, Rita Duncan said: “Sidestream Treatment is a natural first step to addressing nutrient concerns in the San Francisco Bay and beyond. The stream is concentrated and warm – allowing for significant nutrient reductions with modest investment. Microvi’s technology could be a game changer for our industry as it allows targeted treatment to specific water quality concerns. We are pleased to partner with Microvi to make it happen. We are also grateful to the EPA for stoking innovation in our industry and helping to fund the work.”
Microvi CEO, Dr. Fatemeh Shirazi said: “This groundbreaking project is a major milestone for Microvi and the industry as a whole. We are pleased to showcase our MNE technology for the removal of nitrogen at Oro Loma/CVSan’s 12 MGD plant. This installation will aid in efforts to protect the San Franscisco Bay from significant nitrogen discharge. We are committed to bringing our sustainable and transformative nitrogen solution to the other wastewater facilities in the Bay Area and across the globe.”
The sidestream is the liquid resulting from the dewatering of anaerobically digested biosolids, which is typically routed back into the facility’s treatment process. This stream can represent approximately 1% of the flow entering a wastewater facility but can comprise 20% or more of the nitrogen loading.
Nitrogen treatment in the sidestream is growing in prominence given its potential for significant reductions in capital and operating costs as well as reduced process risk. The treatment of high-strength ammonia allows alternative, more efficient microbiology to be used without complex processes requiring extensive online instrumentation and specialized operating resources. Microvi’s MNE technology for treatment of nitrogen simplifies the overall treatment process and can be retrofitted into existing infrastructure.
By treating this sidestream, the Microvi MNE technology will improve the reliability of nitrogen removal across the entire treatment process by advantageously converting ammonia only to nitrite, reducing energy consumption by 25% and reducing carbon dosing by 40%.
The heart of Microvi MNE technology is its novel biocatalytic composites (MNE biocatalysts) that intensify and extend the life of biological processes, while maintaining a controlled population of microorganisms at a much higher density than existing technologies. Despite the complexity of the MNE biocatalysts themselves, the design and operation of the systems are simple with no complex process controls. In addition, Microvi MNE does not produce additional solids and reduces energy and carbon requirements.
Do you have an article to share? Click here to submit. If you’d like to subscribe to our weekly newsletter, click here.
