Wastewater - Treatment General Information

Micro Encapsulated Bacterial Cultures, Enzymes and Nutrients

A selected blend of all natural bacterial cultures, enzymes and starting nutrients that are very effective as a seed or maintenance culture for biodegradation of a wide range of municipal/industrial organic wastes, to include animal, fecal and plant wastes, pulp and paper spent liquids, proteins and fats.

BZT® Waste Digester cultures, enzymes and nutrients are used to improve biotreatment performance and reduce BOD/COD loads in municipal and industrial water treatment clarifiers, trickling filters, ponds, lagoons, activated sludge systems and aerobic and anaerobic digesters. They are also an ideal blend for quickly destroying grease and fat buildup in drains, sewer lines and lift stations. Periodic use of BZT® Waste Digester will also:

• Reduce overall sludge volume in clarifiers and treatment lagoons through enhanced biodegradation and heightened floc formation with good settling characteristic.
  
• Provide optimized degradation of organic wastes, including fecal, blood and fats from animal slaughterhouses, meat, poultry and produce processors.
  
• Metabolize organic sediments in stagnant lagoons or treatment ponds, even under low oxygen conditions.
  
• Reduce the population of hydrogen sulfide forming bacteria and the odors associated with them, through species competition.

The Right Culture

The one variable in biological wastewater treatment plants that has traditionally been outside operator control is quality of the plant biomass. Bacteria and protozoa in both municipal and industrial biological systems may be negatively impacted by low operating temperatures, toxic chemicals, high substrate loadings, or variable waste streams. Plant start-up and upset recovery require rapid response to maintain the stringent limits imposed by environmental permits. Special environmental problems require environmentally sound biological solutions instead of traditional off-site disposal.

Bioaugmentation

A well-designed and operated biological wastewater treatment plant provides an optimum environment for a microbial population to become acclimated to the incoming wastewater. As long as the basic requirements as described are met, along with a controlled food source, the treatment objectives can usually be met.

Problems arise when the plant becomes overloaded with a particular waste component (e.g., oil & grease) to which the indigenous or native population cannot acclimate. This often results in erratic performance or a plant upset. High organic loadings or periodic shock loads may also contribute to poor plant stability. Finally a deficiency in any of the basic requirements, or periodic toxic or inhibitory conditions, may threaten the health of the microbial population with resulting poor effluent quality.

Bioaugmentation puts the operator in control of the waste treatment plant by allowing a shift in both the diversity and quality of the microbial population.

Selectively adapted strains can target particular waste compounds, improve the treated effluent quality, maintain plant stability, and reduce plant operating costs. Bioaugmentation can also be used for biological remediation of environmental problems ranging from grease deposition in collection systems to H₂S formation in collection systems.

Basic Requirements

A biological wastewater treatment plant's goal is to provide an optimum environment for the microbial population. The primary environmental factors include:

• Dissolved Oxygen (DO): Critical to the maintenance of efficient aerobic conditions a minimum DO of 2 mg/L is recommended in all areas of an aeration basin or treatment process.
• Nutrients: Macro nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus must be present in sufficient quantities to support biological growth. The recommended BOD:N:P ratio of 100:5: 1 (based on influent loadings) is the minimum to support good treatment.
• pH: Influent to the biological treatment should be maintained at a pH of 6.8-8.2 at all times during the treatment process. Nitrification is optimized at a pH of 7.6-8.2 and should be closely monitored.
• Temperature: Biological growth occurs at operating temperatures of 45°F [7.2°C] to 140°F [60°C] with optimum growth rate at 70°F [21.1°C] to 90°F [32.2°C].

Applications and Solutions

• Organic Overloads - Upsets can be minimized with BZT® bioaugmentation preventing permit excursions or lost productivity.
  
• Treatment of Specific Compounds - Difficult to treat industrial compounds (such as surfactants) can be targeted with selectively adapted BZT® microorganisms.
  
• Poor Clarification/Settleability - BZT® establishes a high quality biomass and lower effluent BOD/COD that will provide a sludge with better settling characteristics.
  
• Fats, Oil, & Grease - Compounds of plant, animal, or petro chemical origin can result in serious operational problems as well as permit excursions. BZT® can target these compounds.
  
• Aeration Basin/Filamentous - Filamentous organisms can be minimized with a targeted bioaugmentation program using BZT®.
  
• Scum Pits - BZT® cultures can effectively cut grease skimmings traditionally sent to anaerobic digesters or off-site disposal.
  
• Collection System Maintenance - BZT® cultures can eliminate grease accumulation and H2S in sewer lines and lift stations, drastically reducing maintenance costs.
  
• Plant Start-Up - BZT® can accelerate and optimize plant start-up.
  
• Lagoon Treatment - Odor reduction and performance of aerobic and facultative lagoons can be drastically improved using BZT® cultures.
  
• Overcoming Marginal Operating/Design Conditions - Plants often experience difficulty in maintaining basic requirements for optimum operation. BZT® cultures can help overcome marginal conditions and improve performance.
  
• Ammonia Removal - Plants can achieve biological nitrification with BZT® culture.

Steps to Implement a Bioaugmentation Program

Dosage recommendations for augmenting biological wastewater treatment plants fall into two broad categories: stability related applications and upset recovery or plant start-up. BZT® dosage programs are designed to rapidly achieve results through two phases of culture addition: seeding and maintenance. Dosages are calculated on both organic loading (COD/BOD) and flow rate. During the seeding phase (days 1-7) a high initial inoculum will compensate for the lag phase seen in all bacterial growth. The maintenance phase is designed to sustain the benefits of BZT® selectively adapted cultures once the desired microbial population is established.

Where to Apply BZT® Waste Digester Cultures

Aeration/SBR's/RBC's Basins
Equalization Tanks
Imhoff Tanks
Clarifiers
Digester, Sludge Tanks
Oxidation Tanks
Lift Stations
Trickling Filters
Lagoons
Gravity and Feeder Lines