lauren@kelman.ca

TERTIARY TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES & PRACTICES
FIGURE 4
1.10
1.00
Total Phosphorus (mg/L P)
0.90
0.80
0.70
0.60
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
FIGURE 5
Marlborough, MA WWTP total phosphorous discharge
concentrations compared to their TMDL permitted limit.
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Month
2012 2013 2014 TMDL Seasonal Target
Pilot unit of the Blue Pro reactive sand filter.
reactive filter process is not specific
to phosphorus, but an adsorptive
mechanism with binding capacity for
other constituents as well, it was of
particular interest in this application.
The wastewater plant is designed for
a daily average flow of 0.6 MLD
(1.5 MGD), with peak daily flows
of up to 1.7 MLD (4.5 MGD).
Blue Water Technologies, Inc. initiated
a pilot of the reactive filter in the fall
of 2013. Figure 5 shows an image of
the pilot unit. The data demonstrated
that after chemical optimization, the
reactive filtration system produced
< 0.075 mg/L TP and total copper as
low as < 1 µg/L (the analytical method
detection limit).
Reactive filtration methods have
become more appealing in recent
years because they not only meet the
immediate water quality treatment
needs, but also provide those solutions
with a platform that offers tremendous
future flexibility. Customers and
engineering consultants alike have
come to appreciate this fact in cases
where bed volumes of reactive filters
are known to be of sufficient capacity
to incorporate simultaneous biological
denitrification where total nitrogen
levels could become a treatment
requirement in the future, in addition
to phosphorous, total suspended solids
(TSS), biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD), and metals polishing. The high
quality water, low in turbidity and
pollutants, produced by reactive filters
can also be recycled as reuse water as
a non-potable water source providing
additional benefits. Finally, many
customers appreciate the flexibility of
the platform, allowing for the addition
of filters over time to meet either more
aggressive discharge limits or increased
flow down the road.
Reactive filtration has proven to
be an efficient treatment method for
maximizing trace contaminant removal
and minimizing chemical usage costs
at a competitive capital investment.
Its varied applications include
mitigating trace phosphorus, mercury,
copper, zinc, and other trace elements.
The authors can be contacted
via email: CJ Strain, P.E. (cstrain@
bluewater-technologies.com), Robin
Schroeder (rschroeder@bluewatertechnologies.com),
Dale Sanchez
(dale@vectorprocess.com).
28 INFLUENTS Fall 2015
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