Wastewater from manufacturing operations typically lacks the nutritional building blocks necessary to effectively sustain wastewater microbial life. As a result, operational problems occur and inefficient waste stabilization results. Signs of nutrient deficiency include: sludge bulking, foaming, poor settleability, inefficient removal of suspended solids, excess sludge accumulation, and inefficient removal of BOD and COD (Wastewater Biology The Life Process, WEF, 1994)
Where proper nutrition exists, a wider variety of microbial species will work together to further nutrient cycling for more complete stabilization of waste. Limiting or deficient nutrient concentrations may shift the population in favor of those organisms requiring less of the element or those organisms more capable of living off of trace elements in extremely dilute solutions. This leads to bulking, foaming, excess sludge accumulation and effluent BOD concentrations several times higher than desired.
Small nutritional changes to the growth environment will release more of the microbes' true potential and send dramatic changes throughout the wastewater treatment system.
Since 1998 Del Monte Foods in Mendota, Illinois has used BIO ENERGIZER, a comercially produced nutrient complex, to reduce 10,723,000 pounds of waste sludge.
Del Monte packs about 9 million cases of peas, corn, carrots, and lima beans each year. One aerated lagoon and two facultative lagoons with spray irrigation are used to stabilize the 720,000 gallons of wastewater generated each day during the packing season.
After just four and one-half months of using BIO ENERGIZER the sludge blanket depth in Lagoon #1 reduced by 20 inches and cut the sludge mass by over 3,200,000 pounds.
After four seasons of continued BIO ENERGIZER use, Del Monte has destroyed over 10,700,000 pounds of sludge in Lagoon #1 while adding over 7,600,000 pounds of new waste solids over 3,500,000 pounds of existing sludge.
Del Monte Foods has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in sludge dredging, handling, and hauling costs with no odors, improved BOD removal, while all the lagoons stayed on-line.
For faster, more complete sludge oxidation, less waste sludge hauled, for improved settleability, better decant, and increased treatment capacity, use BIO ENERGIZER.
Nutrition and bio stimulation is just one more way to cut costs and optimize wastewater treatment plant performance.
