STARTUP OF A FULL-SCALE VERTREAT™ WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT AT A CHEESE PRODUCTION FACILITY

VERTREAT™ is a high-rate activated sludge process. A compact, high-pressure reactor replaces the large open aeration basin commonly found in activated sludge systems. Vigorous mixing, high oxygen transfer, and high mixed liquor concentrations are critical design limitations in many conventional plants. The VERTREAT™ system has intensive mixing, high oxygen transfer, and high MLSS in a compact subsurface reactor, making it an efficient high-rate biological system. A VERTREAT™ system was selected for treatment of high-strength wastewater from a large dairy. The plant design consists of 3.2 million liters (850,000 gallons) of equalization capacity, two 2.75 m (9 ft) diameter 94 m (308 ft) deep bioreactors, and two rectangular flotation clarifiers. Influent is cooled to retain mesophilic conditions in the system.