Pennsylvania Beef-Processor Conquers BNR Obstacles & Compliance With EOSi’s MicroC® 2000

An Eastern Pennsylvania Industrial beef-processing plant seeking to comply with their total maximum daily load (TMDL) permit limits upgraded their onsite wastewater treatment plant(WWTP) from a conventional activated-sludge plant to a dual-train, four-stage Bardenpho activated-sludge process.

Prior to the plant’s biological nutrient removal(BNR) upgrade, it historically discharged greater than 200 mg/L total nitrogen (TN). However, the plant’s new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit required an annual TN average concentration of less than 8mg/l and a daily maximum TN of 130 mg/l at a flowrate of 0.5 MGD.

With very high nitrogen loading with peaks of up to 300 mg/l TN and low carbon/nitrogen ratios in the anoxic zones, the plant design required using supplemental carbon to facilitate denitrification to comply with the NPDES permit limits. Citing safety, low cost, and high quality, EOSi’s MicroC® 2000was chosen as the supplemental carbon source for the wastewater treatment facility.