Pilot Testing of BIOACTIFLOtm for Wet Weather Treatment at the Akron, Ohio Water Reclamation Facility

A pilot-scale study was conducted at the City of Akron Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) to demonstrate the effectiveness of the BIOACTIFLOTM process to achieve effluent limits stipulated in the City of Akron, Ohio Long-Term CSO Control Plan (LTCP) under high flow, wet weather conditions. In addition to BIOACTIFLOTM, the pilot study included an evaluation and comparison of sodium hypochlorite and ultraviolet light (UV) as disinfection alternatives following the BIOACTIFLOTM process.BIOACTIFLOTM is a cutting edge technology with broad applicability at wastewater treatment plants that currently practice blending of excess wet weather flow, or plan to do so in the future. By incorporating high-rate activated sludge with the ACTIFLOTM high-rate ballasted flocculation process, BIOACTIFLOTM can remove soluble BOD5 that would not otherwise be removed. Additionally, BIOACTIFLOTM requires a small footprint as compared to conventional treatment processes and has the ability to operate intermittently in response to wet weather. These attributes translate to cost and space savings as well as operational feasibility under intermittent, wet weather conditions. For all these reasons, The City of Akron conducted pilot-scale testing to assess BIOACTIFLOTM performance for potential full-scale application for treatment of peak wet weather flow at the City’s WRF.The pilot unit was operated during a total of twenty (20) wet weather events which resulted in a bypass of the secondary treatment system at the WRF, representative of the conditions under which the full-scale system would operate. Data collected during these storms effectively demonstrated the ability of the BIOACTIFLOTM process to achieve the TSS and CBOD5 limits stipulated in the City’s LTCP. The study also demonstrated that BIOACTIFLOTM effluent was as readily disinfected as effluent from the WRF secondary treatment process, and that both hypochlorite and UV were effective.