As central sewers become more costly, and as businesses continue to spring up in rural areas, demand is rising for commercial-grade and larger-scale onsite systems. Manufacturers are responding with treatment units built to accommodate larger flow and treat higher-strength waste than residential applications generate. Here are some of the more recent innovations.
Fusion Systems
Fusion systems from Clarus Environmental treat 2,800 gpd and can be installed in a parallel configuration for more capacity. The all-in-one units receive raw sewage and output secondary effluent. They are efficient to operate and easy to maintain. 877/244-9340; www.clarusenvironmental.com.
Recirculating biotower
The Segflo recirculating biotower from Premier Tech Aqua treats domestic wastewater from mobile home parks, strip malls and housing developments. It relies on bacterial segregation and efficient oxygenation to reduce BOD, TSS, and fats, oils and grease to below regulatory standards. It has stable performance even in peak periods.
Compact modular components arrive pre-assembled for multi-phase projects. A kit option is available for local assembly. A panel controls and monitors the system for simple operation and maintenance. 800/632-6356; www.premiertechaqua.com.
Membrane bioreactor
The PuraM wastewater treatment and reuse system from Bord na Mona uses ultrafiltration membrane technology to meet reuse and total nitrogen standards within a reduced footprint. The pre-engineered units are for municipal, community and commercial applications requiring reliability, reduced operational input through extended periods between chemical cleans, and ease of maintenance. 800/787-2356; www.bnm-us.com.
Modular construction
Module construction of extended aeration treatment packages from Jet Inc. supports numerous plant sizes and phased commercial or residential developments such as hotels, shopping centers, restaurants and subdivisions. Designs can support 1,500 to 300,000 gpd based on loading levels. 800/321-6960; www.jetincorp.com.
Monolithic scalable system
MyFAST systems from Bio-Microbics Inc. treat wastewater from small communities, commercial properties, isolated schools, and business parks or upgrade municipal package plants. Three systems treat 40,000 gpd to 160,000 gpd. The pre-engineered segments bolt together, creating one monolithic module per tank.
The integrated fixed-film media provides a high surface-to-volume ratio to maintain microbial growth during low, average and peak usage. A remote blower, the only moving part, injects air to circulate wastewater through the media’s channeled flow path. Robust agitation allows complete aeration, mixing, and self-cleaning of the attached growth reaction, while the fixed activated sludge technology produces minimal sludge. The effluent is clear and odorless. 800/753-3278; www.biomicrobics.com.
Mobile solution
The SYNERGY trailer from Quanics Inc. is a mobile advanced treatment system for camps, arctic conditions, disaster relief, temporary events or remote locations. The self-contained system combines treatment, distribution, recirculation and disinfection in a single pre-engineered design. AeroCell open-cell foam biofilters treat wastewater to secondary and tertiary levels. The passive-air fixed-film media filter produces little or no sludge and needs no chemicals or backwashing. The system has only a few pumps, filters, and distribution mechanisms that need maintenance. 877/782-6427; www.quanics.net.
Aerobic bacterial generator
Scalable modular SludgeHammer technology treats flows ranging from high-strength winery wastewater to restaurant grease and can be used for cluster systems and retrofits of full-sized package treatment plants. These aerobic bacterial generators oxygenate and circulate effluent in septic tanks at up to 25,000 gpd. Every unit has 150 square feet of coiled lattice with dense bacterial colonies that digest solids and sludge. Microbes reaching the drainfield consume the biomat and remediate the bed. 800/426-3349; www.sludgehammer.net.
Fixed-film treatment
A Bioclere wastewater treatment plant from Aquapoint Inc. replaced failing systems in two plazas in a suburb south of Boston and enabled the developer to build a third shopping plaza with an office complex. The centers included restaurants, retail outlets and a supermarket.
The unit uses modified trickling filters over clarifiers to accommodate intermittent flows, extreme temperature variations, and fluctuations in organic load. It was permitted under Massachusetts groundwater discharge standards requiring BOD and TSS less than 30 mg/l and total nitrogen less than 10 mg/l. The 60- by 70-foot plant handles 40,000 gpd of influent at 800 mg/l BOD and 100 mg/l TKN. 508/998-7577; www.aquapoint.com.
Permanent or temporary
Packaged treatment plants from Delta Environmental Products Inc. handle 3,000 to 500,000 gpd. The extended aeration and oxidation process consumes volatile materials, converting them to carbon dioxide, ash, and clear, odor-free effluent. Pad-mounted, self-contained, permanent or temporary plants require minimal assembly. Secondary and tertiary treatment systems include aeration, settling, filters, clear well chambers, disinfection and ancillary equipment. Options include gratings, handrails, stairways and flow measuring equipment. 800/219-9183; www.deltaenvironmental.com.
Suspended growth
AT Series units from Aero-Tech are extended aeration activated sludge systems that treat 500 to 1,500 gpd. Wastewater is infused with air from a submerged aerator pump at the bottom of the aerobic treatment plant. The venturi created by the pump pulls fresh air from the surface and mixes it with the effluent from the bottom of the tank.
Finely diffused air bubbles are pushed through the exhaust ports into the mixing chamber in a swirling motion that keeps sludge suspended. As new wastewater enters the mixing chamber, it replaces the mixed liquor in the clarifying zone. In the clarifying chamber, the liquid is suspended in the quiet zone, allowing the suspended solids to settle back into the mixing chamber for further treatment. Clear water in the upper clarifying chamber is discharged. 574/935-0908; www.aerotech-atu.com.
High purity
A cost-effective onsite system engineered by Lombardo Associates Inc. for Malibu Village Plaza in Malibu, Calif., uses Nitrex nitrogen removal technology and treats 16,000 gpd of high-strength wastewater, equivalent to 40,000 gpd residential flow.
The 18,000-square-foot shopping center has a restaurant seating 300 and is next to environmentally sensitive Malibu Lagoon and Surfrider Beach. The treatment train has a septic tank effluent pump (STEP) collection system, recirculating media pretreatment, the Nitrex unit and ozone-UV disinfection. The effluent averages BOD and TSS less than 5 mg/l, total nitrogen less than 3 mg/l and turbidity less than 2 NTU. 866/964-2924; www.lombardoassociates.com.
Wide capacity range
Commercial aerobic treatment plants from Hoot Aerobic Systems Inc. handle 2,000 to 1,000,000 gpd from convenience stores to shopping centers, schools to prisons and churches to entire developments or communities. Systems can be designed and permitted for BOD, TSS, fecal, E. coli, nitrogen and phosphorus reduction throughout the country. 888/878-4668; www.hootsystems.com.
Natural process
The NextGen Living Machine decentralized system from Worrell Water Technologies LLC uses subsurface packed beds of engineered gravel to treat wastewater in plant-filled basins. Effluent is usable for non-potable applications such as cooling towers, toilet flushing and irrigation. A 150-square-foot system handles 1,000 gpd and can be scaled to treat more than 100,000 gpd. The process uses 2.8 kWh/day/1,000 gpd.
A tidal wetland system at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, Calif., treats 7,000 gpd with BOD, total nitrogen, and TSS averaging less than 5 mg/l. Effluent is used for drip irrigation in gardens and for aquifer recharge. 434/973-6365; www.livingmachines.com.
Modular layout
AdvanTex AX100 treatment systems from Orenco Systems Inc. handle wastewater from residential clusters, subdivisions, commercial sites and communities. Each 5,000 gpd pre-engineered pod has an absorbent nonwoven textile media that produces effluent clean enough for reuse in subsurface drip systems. The 16- by 8- by 3.5-foot units install and service easily, have telemetry monitoring, and draw 3 kWh/1,000 gallons. An 8-pod array treated 40,000 gpd from the Jack’s Point resort development near Queenstown, New Zealand. It is part of a modular layout designed for 200,000 gpd. 800/348-9843; www.orenco.com.
Passive ecosystem
Advanced Enviro-Septic treatment systems from Presby Environmental Inc. treat wastewater from restaurants, resorts, national parks, cluster homes, schools and hospitals. Units create a passive ecosystem using pipe underlain by a bio-accelerator surrounded by a mat of fibers with a nonwoven geotextile covering. The lightweight, snap-together components install in system sand. Third-party testing showed BOD and TSS levels at 2 mg/l. SPD and CTD models are NSF Standard 40 Class I certified. 800/473-5298; www.presbyenvironmental.com.
Denitrification system
The WaterNOx passive biological anoxic filtration denitrification system from Waterloo Biofilter Systems Inc. needs no backwashing or reactive media replacement. After testing continuously for two years with various carbon sources and loading rates, the units are now installed for high removal of nitrate and nitrite ion at campgrounds, truck stops, restaurants, subdivisions, schools and offices where enhanced nitrogen removal is required but constant or complex maintenance is impossible.
The treatment train includes nitrification of effluent in a standard biofilter, nitrate removal, and final polishing of residual organics in a smaller biofilter. Units arrive pre-assembled in shipping containers or as an ISO container. 519/856-0757; www.waterloo-biofilter.com.
Emergencies, extreme environments
Portable or permanent ExtremeSTP sewage treatment plants from Lifewater Engineering Co. use membrane bioreactors to treat 40,000 gpd to 1 mgd or more from villages, subdivisions, remote resorts, construction camps and tourist centers.
Permanent systems have ceramic membranes with a 20-year life. Portable systems to provide sanitation in emergencies have tubular membranes that winterize easily and resist damage during land, air and sea transport. Pre-engineered or custom-engineered systems are built inside 20- or 40-foot shipping containers. Installation is plug-and-play; a SCADA system allows remote monitoring and control. Effluent meets surface water discharge quality standards. The units work on permafrost soils and down to -60 degrees F. 866/458-7024; www.lifewaterengineering.com.
Cyanobacteria fighter
BIONEST systems from Bionest Technologies Inc. are suitable for all types of soil and land configurations, offering high purification of commercial and industrial wastewater to meet the most rigorous standards and help fight cyanobacteria. Units are concealed and odorless, easy to install and economical to operate. 819/538-5662; www.bionest.ca.
Light applications
Aqua Safe plants from Ecological Tanks Inc. treat 500 to 1,500 gpd from multiple homes or light commercial applications using an extended aeration activated sludge process. The fiberglass or concrete tanks can be combined for larger flows. Testing in accordance with ANSI/NSF Standard 40 requirements showed effluent averaged 2.37 mg/l BOD and 2.11 mg/l TSS, or 98.6 percent removal of pathogens. Nitrates levels were 7.52 mg/l without additional components. 800/277-8179; www.etiaquasafe.com.
