The Development of Operational Tools for City-Wide Implementation of BNR in New York City

In order to meet future water quality objectives, plant-specific operational guidance for start-up operation of several New York City wastewater treatment facilities in Biological Nitrogen Removal (BNR) mode is being provided as they near BNR construction completion. The goals of these training sessions are to provide a transition from secondary treatment to BNR operation, and ensure that operations are optimized from the start of BNR implementation to reduce effluent nitrogen. The interactive training sessions included:A summary of current plant infrastructure, operations and effluent quality,An explanation of BNR processes (nitrification and denitrification) and the operational requirements (pH, DO, SRT, etc.) needed to maximize those biological processes,A detailed explanation of all plant-specific BNR upgrades (aeration, flow measurement, aeration tank aerobic/anoxic configurations, froth control, surface wasting, chemical addition, automatic controls), andThe importance of Separate Centrate Treatment (SCT) and the target operational settings for SCT optimization