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Aeration Decoupling
Introduction
Treating water and its close relative wastewater treatment using current technology is
power intensive and costly. Current technology reaches a tipping point at $0.07 / kW -h
when other approaches become attractive. A CleanTech approach yields least cost with no
compromise in water or wastewater treatment quality in the largest market segments by
application.
Background
“Aeration is the process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or dissolved in a
liquid or substance.”
Air is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen with 8 other principal gases present at trace levels.
Nitrogen gas has an atomic triple bond that effectively makes it inert or non-reactive for
all practical purposes in a raw water or wastewater setting.
Specific microbial bacteria called diazotrophs can “fix” nitrogen as ammonium (NH4).
Their symbiotic function is to make nitrogen bioavailable for plant uptake and growth.
So - besides constructed wetlands and some forms of bio-filter’s nitrogen is inert or
useless for water or wastewater treatment purposes.
Oxygen though is the other major component in “air”. It’s present in all major classes of
structural molecules in living organisms, such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats,
contain oxygen, as do the major inorganic compounds that comprise animal shells, teeth,
and bone.
Oxygen as O2 is produced from water by cyanobacteria, algae and plants during
photosynthesis and is used in cellular respiration for all complex life.
Oxygen is toxic to obligately anaerobic organisms, which were the dominant form of
early life on Earth until O2 began to accumulate in the atmosphere 2.5 billion years ago.
The kinetics or rate of metabolysis of a microbial biomass is 10x faster in the presence of
oxygen when compared to an anaerobic (without oxygen) microbial biomass.
This simple and intuitive truth is why oxygen is the molecule of choice for water and
wastewater treatment. It helps the affected biomass consume much more rapidly influent
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Convincing a conservative marketplace that it can save costs and improve productivity
with unfamiliar CleanTech requires a plan that stepwise proves the plan’s efficacy. We
propose a four step plan as outlined below.
In probable order of importance:
Process Optimization
1) A first answer is optimizing the whole process from a unit function perspective. This
implies using software modeling to find best fits solutions, using existing hardware,
that can give immediate operating cost savings. This impact is normally 5 -10%+
savings year on year. Shockingly few municipalities and nearly no industrial facilities
have done this.
Process Characterization
2) Next - characterizing the influent wastewater for flow and load variations is crucial
and critical. This can be done in conjunction with answer 1 above.
Oxygen Demand Definition
3) Next - characterizing the optimized process’ Oxygen Uptake Rate (OUR) becomes a
real need. Oxygen uptake rate summed with the desired residual Dissolved Oxygen
(DO) defines the process Oxygen Demand (OD). This process OD can then be easily
compared with the existing aeration systems’ Oxygen Transfer Rate (OTR). Subtract
OTR from OD. If the sum is positive then the process is capable of meeting demand. If
negative then the process is not capable of meeting demand and must be changed. We
estimate that 40 - 50% of existing municipal and industrial wastewater facilities have a
shortfall OD. This represents several process problems not least discharge compliance
issues often expressed first as a warm weather odor issue or cold weather ammonia
problem. OUR determination can and should be done in conjunction with answer 2
above.
Aeration Decoupling
4) Mixing energy plus net mass transfer energy for OD when summed equals total
process aeration requirement. Sorry - no acronym for this one. In all instances, without
exception, flow and load vary on at least a diurnal schedule following the populations
work, eating and sleeping schedule. Flow and load also varies seasonally. If industrial
wastewater is part of the flow and load its contribution is highly variable and borders
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CleanTech Benefits
Also a literature based search will reveal that any pure oxygen based process will yield
30% less waste biomass (sludge) than conventional technologies. This is important and
is a distinct process advantage that translates to nextgen CleanTech. This typically
lowers a facility’s operating costs by 10 - 15% by itself.
Our CleanTech fully decouple mixing and OD by integrating aVFD / flow meter 0 -
10VDC input on all of our products motors. This gives up to 50% turn down / turn up
for mixing purposes and an automatic valve assembly (Oxygen Control Module) that
allow 0 - 100% turn down / turn up that takes a 4 - 20mA input from a DO sensor(s)
suspended in the treatment basins.
Interestingly - we are best in class for mass transfer (# product delivered / unit energy
applied) - our range for net mass transfer (oxygen “manufacturing” dissolution = net
mass transfer) with a range of 5 - 7#O2 / Hp-h versus 2 - 3 or less for either aeration.
All other pure oxygen dissolution technologies which range from 0.15#O2 / HP-h to
slightly over 2#O2 / HP-h. This mass transfer rating offers another substantial
operating cost savings of benefit of, at minimum, 15 - 25%.
This means we can offer our clients a very substantial operating cost savings without
changing their operating conditions in any way.
Other Benefits
• Decoupling with pure oxygen minimizes VOC emissions by preventing nitrogen gas
stripping.
• In load challenged situations where a higher biomass / MLSS is desirable to maintain
compliance simply eliminating nitrogen allows DO to be substantially increased to
levels as high as 2 - 24 mg/l with no process hazard. Remember Henry’s and Fisk’s
Law’s - we are only using dissolution and diffusion in a new, more efficient manner.
• High MLSS conditions with high DO allow the biomass to entrain and adsorb oxygen
thereby substantially mitigating the cost of theoretical increases in OD. This can be as
high as 90% less than predicted. In this situation you are running a high rate bio-
reactor for very little increase in cost.
• Waste biomass or sludge, in this situation, will have very high BOD / COD loads
which makes an ideal feed for a sidestream Anaerobic Digester (AD). Run correctly
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AD makes very efficient and high quality biogas (methane) which can be easily
combusted with an on-site internal combustion (IC) engine for power generation.
DISCLAIMER
The information contained in this paper is for general information purposes only. The
information is provided by Dana Wregglesworh and while I endeavored to keep the information
up to date and correct, I make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied,
about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the paper
or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in the paper for any purpose.
Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will I be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or
consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or
profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this paper.
The author, Dana Wregglesworth, takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the paper
and its potential applications’ due to technical issues beyond my control.