MBBR Facility Test-Drives AquaDAF and Actiflo for High Rate Solids Separation

Pilot testing was conducted in late 2008 and early 2009 at a full-scale moving bed biofilm reactor(MBBR) facility (Williams Monaco WWTP) owned and operated by the South Adams County, Colorado, Water and Sanitation District (SACWSD) to obtain design and operating information for high-rate clarification used to clarify MBBR effluent. Two high-rate clarification processes were pilot tested: the Infilco Degremont Inc. (IDI) AquaDAF, and the Kruger Actiflo ballasted flocculation process. The pilot studies investigated the design and operating requirements for two levels of treatment: secondary effluent quality characterized by an effluent total suspended solids (TSS) concentration of less than 15 mg/L, and high-level phosphorus removal characterized by an effluent total phosphorus (TP) concentration of less than 0.2 mg/L. The pilot testing results were used in an evaluation to investigate economic and non-economic factors for the application of these technologies for solids separation and phosphorus removal following an MBBR reactor.