Primary Filtration Waste: How Do We Handle This High Volume Waste? Completing the Carbon Diversion PFD - SAF Pilot Results

Introduction Intensification processes have been a focus largely for secondary and anaerobic treatment processes. These approaches have enabled utilities to increase performance, reduce footprint, and enable carbon redirection and capture. As we continue to evaluate drivers that include capacity, nutrient removal, carbon redirection, intensification, and energy reduction, enhanced primary treatment (EPT) plays a key role to whole facility integration considerations. Primary filtration technologies are increasingly evaluated as an alternative that enables high carbon redirection through >80% TSS and 50 to 70% BOD capture in a footprint that is approximately 25% of conventional primary clarification. This technology offers significant opportunity for facilities to divert carbon from liquid stream systems to anaerobic digestion, saving on aeration costs and increasing biogas production. However, full integration into existing facilities requires consideration to existing thickening facilities. Primary filter sludge is a high volume, low concentration that is 2 to 3x the volume seen with conventional primary clarifiers with a concentration of 3,000 to 5,000 mg/L. Further, the characteristics of the waste stream include a significant increase to non-settleable TSS and colloidal material that was previously not captured with conventional primary treatment. A comparison of anticipated capture efficiencies of thickening technologies (Figure 1) and footprints (Figure 2) indicates conventional gravity thickeners are significantly disadvantaged compared to other mechanical thickening technologies. Primary filter technologies are often solids limited vs. hydraulically limited (as in the case of tertiary filters). A reduction in capture efficiency of 5 to 10% has a resulting impact to filter loading rates, increasing surface area requirements by an equivalent rate. This technology review also indicated a potential opportunity for Suspended Air Flotation (SAF), offering a high hydraulic loading rate with potentially high capture efficiencies. SAF, provided by Heron Innovators, is similar to dissolved air flotation thickening but uses a surfactant to aid in solids separation and flotation. However, the technology had no primary sludge (filter or clarifier) thickening references and limited municipal waste activated sludge (WAS) case studies (with most installations to date being industrial applications). The Trinity River Authority of Texas (TRA) will soon be expanding the Denton Creek Regional Wastewater System (DCRWS) Facility. One component of the proposed expansion is the addition of primary filters. A preliminary assessment of a range of thickening technologies using economic and noneconomic factors indicated that SAF thickening could offer substantial economic benefits to TRA. Potentially, the SAF system could require the least amount of equipment, which correlates to a smaller footprint, and low chemical conditioning requirements, which translates to lower operations costs. As a result of the evaluation of technologies, SAF was selected as the basis of design for co-thickening blended (primary and waste-activated) solids. The decision to select SAF as the thickening option in this design constitutes an uncommon and innovative use of this technology. To confirm suitability of SAF for primary filter applications and to better understand the key design parameters driving SAF performance in the blended solids thickening application at DCRWS, a SAF pilot study was conducted at the Ten-Mile Creek Regional Wastewater System (TMCRWS) Facility. TRA and BV worked with Herron Innovators, Inc., providers of the SAF technology, to develop the pilot test. SAF systems are similar in concept to the older dissolved air flotation (DAF) systems in that both technologies float solids to the top of their respective tanks for thickening and removal. The key difference is that DAF systems use pressurized air dissolved in water while SAF systems instead employ a surfactant charged emulsion of air and water (also referred to as 'froth') to efficiently float solids. This allows SAF systems to achieve high solids loading rates (SLRs), which reduces equipment and space requirements. Table 1 provides a summary of key design criteria comparing DAF and SAF technologies. The SAF pilot setup explored low solids concentration, high volume feed solids conditions indicative of primary filter solids and blended solids (primary solids + WAS) thickening applications. Key questions were explored related to hydraulic and solids loading rates as well as polymer and froth dosages, to determine what targets for each of these primary design criteria are best correlated with overall thickening performance in terms of solids capture and the resulting thickened solids concentrations. The pilot was operated for a total of five weeks to test a range of loading rates and scenarios. Pilot Setup The SAF pilot study was conducted at TMCRWS from July 11th through August 18th, 2023. The study setup included a trailer-mounted pilot-scale SAF unit provided by Heron, specifically the CF125 model, which has a flow capacity of 350 gpm and a flotation area of 17 ft2. Throughout the study, TRA staff collected samples twice daily for analysis. Results The results of the pilot study which will be elaborated on in the full paper, include:

*Capture Efficiency oPrimary Solids Capture Efficiency — the primary solids thickening performance was excell