Challenger, Lisa

Lisa Challenger is the Senior Project Manager at Material Matters. She has been instrumental in biosolids master planning projects and market assessments in over 20 states and has experience with evaluating biosolids regulations unique to each state. She has expertise in thermally dried product characteristics and relationship with dryer technologies and is proud to have one of the largest dried biosolids collections in the US. After hours, her favorite thing to do is spending time with her two year old son.

Titles from this speaker

Description: Investigating Alternative Products and Markets to Enhance Capacity and Outlet...

Investigating Alternative Products and Markets to Enhance Capacity and Outlet Diversity for Citizens Energy Group (Indianapolis, IN)

Abstract

Background Citizens Energy Group (Citizens) owns and operates two advanced wastewater treatment plants (AWTPs) that serve the City of Indianapolis, IN : Southport AWTP and Belmont AWTP. In total, the AWTPs treat a combined average annual daily flow of 210 million gallons per day (mgd). Solids management includes dewatering and incineration, with a small fraction of cake transported for landfill disposal. Approximately 220,000 wet tons (wt) of cake are processed each year. While incineration has been a reliable solids management option for the utility for many years, the existing incinerator capacity is projected to be insufficient for future loadings. Recognizing existing solids handling constraints, Citizens elected to embark on a WWTP Sludge Management Update to explore and understand the feasibility of other potential solids management practices and to identify opportunities to improve the existing program, reduce program costs, and provide flexibility to management options as the incinerators near capacity. Objective The WWTP Sludge Management Update was initiated to identify cost-effective and energy efficient solids processing technologies to supplement Citizens' existing technology, multiple hearth incineration. As part of the Project, Material Matters completed a biosolids market assessment and regulatory evaluation for the Southport AWTP to provide support to Citizens to better understand the biosolids end use market, and the demand for various biosolids products in and surrounding Indianapolis. The market assessment is of critical important for a utility of this size & with cake production of over 15 truckloads per day. The market findings will be utilized by Citizens in combination with the preliminary Arcadis Process Selection Memo, to achieve the following objectives: 1. Assess market demand for each product in agricultural and non-agricultural markets; and 2. Estimate costs associated with product management for each product considered. The Biosolids Market Assessment included six products (including unstabilized cake) from technologies which can be implemented for long-term planning, as summarized in Table 1. Methodology The in-depth market analysis established product quality characteristics, quantified production (Figure 1) and specifications for each Class A/EQ and Class B product and quantified outside-the-gate costs for product management. Additionally, Material Matters engaged with local utilities and state regulators current biosolids management practices and potential future regulatory requirements for beneficial use of both Class B and EQ biosolids products in Indiana. The analysis also included interviews with Indiana water pollution control facilities (WPCFs) with design flows greater than two million gallons per day (mgd), third-party contractors (TPCs), regulators, agricultural extension agents, and potential outlets identified within approximately a 50-mile radius of Indianapolis. Findings and Current Status Our effort revealed Indiana's unique local marketplace and state regulations strongly favor beneficial use of Class B biosolids, with robust Class B land application across the state (Figure 2), so there is no major end-use driver for Citizens to invest in costly Class A/EQ technologies for the successful development of a beneficial use program. Results from the project identified opportunities for Citizens to enhance pretreatment oversight and identified multiple low-cost outlet options, including Class B directly into the local agriculture market for various processing alternatives (Figure 3). Findings from the biosolids market assessment and regulatory review was a key economic input to Arcadis' Energy Flow Model tool, which is the interactive deliverable that compares the economic and energy balance of each technology considered. This presentation will discuss the project approach and unique market findings & where upgrading to Class A/EQ is not always the most cost effective option.

This paper was presented at the WEF Residuals and Biosolids Conference in Columbus, Ohio, May 24-27, 2022.

SpeakerChallenger, Lisa

Presentation time

8:30:00

9:00:00

Session time

8:30:00

11:15:00

Session number17

Session locationGreater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio

TopicMarket Analysis

Author(s)

L. Challenger

Author(s)L. Challenger1; K. Bertoldi2

Author affiliation(s)Material Matters; 1Residuals and Biosolids Speaker; 2

SourceProceedings of the Water Environment Federation

Document typeConference Paper

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Print publication date May, 2022

DOI10.2175/193864718825158377

Volume / Issue

Content sourceResiduals and Biosolids

Word count18

Description: Starting with the End in Mind - Howard County's Journey through Master Planning and...

Starting with the End in Mind - Howard County's Journey through Master Planning and Dryer Start-up to Create a Marketable Product

Abstract

Background Howard County owns and operates the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant (LPWRP), located in Savage, Maryland. The LPWRP is permitted to treat an annual average daily flow of 29.2 million gallons per day (mgd), with a current average daily flow of 20 mgd. Howard County historically generated a Class A Exceptional Quality (EQ) alkaline-stabilized biosolids product (through the RDP process), that was beneficially used in the bulk agriculture market. The RDP process and biosolids management was contracted to a third-party contractor (TPC). While the program was successful, it had challenges including generation of large quantities of biosolids to manage, elevated pH in soils routinely receiving the biosolids, a newly adopted winter ban on land application of organic materials (including biosolids), and specific limitations on existing agricultural outlets due to the implementation of Maryland's phosphorus (P) index. Objective Recognizing these challenges, the County engaged the HDR & Material Matters Team (Team) to complete a biosolids master plan (2013) and subsequent preliminary engineering report (PER) (2014). At the start of the project, the County developed the following project goal: 'Develop a Biosolids Master Plan that provides a framework for reliable, cost-effective, and socially responsible treatment and beneficial use of LPWRP biosolids in a changing and unpredictable regulatory environment.' To aide in selecting a technology best suited to meet the County's needs, Material Matters conducted a market analysis and regulatory review for Class A/EQ biosolids in Mid-Atlantic region. The objective was to identify the product or product(s) best suited to meet the project goal. Methodology Material Matters was responsible for conducting an initial market analysis in the local community, establishing product quality characteristics and specifications, and outside-the-gate costs as part of the initial Master Planning effort. Material Matters provided customer-preferred characteristics for each of the biosolids products based on the viable market requirements. A regulatory review was conducted to define/assess the current and future regulatory requirements for both Class B and EQ biosolids to confirm and clarify the meaning of new and proposed regulatory language. Bulk sale to soil blenders was identified as a primary outlet, driven by regulatory challenges related to phosphorus (P) content of the biosolids - bulk sales to soil blenders would not be impacted by new P rules. With the support of the market assessment findings, Howard County personnel concluded that anaerobic digestion with thermal drying was the technology combination best suited to meet the set goal. Multiple thermal drying technologies were evaluated as part of the PER and a second, detailed market assessment was completed to identify which dried biosolids product type was best suited for the local soil blending market (Figure 1). The County selected the Haarslev belt drying technology for the ultimate processing of its material to create a dried Class A/EQ product for the most promising non-agriculture market identified: soil blending (Figure 1). Findings and Current Status[ Material Matters was able to provide support for the project within budget based on taking advantage of our local experience with regional regulators and other utilities. The Material Matters team is currently revisiting these efforts to develop a details distribution plan to provide the County with a recipe to successfully distribute the product during the first years following dryer start-up. The distribution plan includes tools for Howard County to advertise the product (Figure 2), example distribution plan based on market findings (Figure 3), and an overall roadmap for continual program evaluation and improvement (Figure 4). As of the time of this publication, viable options include direct distribution to a local soil blender and large farm for a small net revenue. By 'Starting with the End in Mind' and continual pursuit of local market options, the Material Matters team has helped the County save up to $300,000 per year in outside-the-gate costs (Figure 5).

This paper was presented at the WEF Residuals and Biosolids Conference in Columbus, Ohio, May 24-27, 2022.

SpeakerChallenger, Lisa

Presentation time

14:00:00

14:30:00

Session time

13:30:00

17:00:00

Session number02

Session locationGreater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio

TopicBiosolids, market diversification, Sustainability And Social Responsibility

Author(s)