Impressive restart after a winter shutdown

Germany. Some wastewater treatment plants with “off peak” periods such as holiday parks and ski resorts, can experience large seasonal fluctuations in influent composition and volume. In order to maintain a healthy biomass and to ensure the bacteria is able to accommodate sudden load changes, conventional activated sludge plants typically require dosing of external carbon (such as molasses or blood and bone) during the off peak season.

Attached growth systems like BioGill however, are more resilient against fluctuating loads and toxic substances compared to traditional activated sludge.

Last year an advanced wastewater treatment plant designed by Fundamental Marine Developments Ltd was tested by PIA GmbH in Germany for compliance during ship operation as per International Maritime Organisation Standard MEPC 227 (64). The plant uses BioGill technology at the heart of the process and was granted full certification after passing a demanding testing regime.

To undertake further qualification testing for total nitrogen and phosphate reduction, the plant was restarted last week after a 5 month shutdown. After fixing a few cracks in the pipes which were frozen over winter, on Tuesday (16 May) the power was switched back on and the first effluent sample was collected on Friday morning (19 May).

The measured concentrations were as follows:

• Inlet COD: 1284 mg/L
• Outlet COD: 57.8 mg/L
• Outlet turbidity: 6.0 NTU

After a five month complete shutdown, that is a swift restart in just 4 days!