Increasing phosphorus regulations means plants must change too
With the negative effects of nutrient pollution on the environment and human health becoming more widely known, and as regulations increase, ‘coming close’ to complying isn’t usually going to cut it. If the requirement is 1 and you’re hitting 1.5, the state’s probably going to say, “You guys are so close, but you need to improve this or you’re going to have a problem.” As a result, wastewater treatment plants will have to change how they perform phosphorus treatment. Some plants may try increasing the amount of their current chemistry in order to adhere to these new standards. But the unfortunate side effect is that when more chemicals are added, more sludge is produced, and the higher the operational costs will be to handle the additional chemical feeding. As an alternative to merely increasing your chemical input, ATS Innova helps water plants meet new phosphorus treatment regulations in wastewater effectively and efficiently, and get higher performance overall, all while controlling spending.
What does ATS Innova recommend to meet regulations?
When seeking a solution for phosphorus treatment (or any treatment), it’s always important to assess a given plant’s unique circumstances. Armed with this crucial information, an excellent product to begin testing is our ATS 809, an aluminum salt-based solution that was designed specifically for removing phosphorus in wastewater. We’ve also had success using ATS 806 and 832 to help remove phosphorus. These products work well for reducing phosphorus because of their high basicity and high cationic charge. ATS 806, 809, and 832 are excellent alternative products for ferric (both chloride and sulfate) as well as for any kind of sodium aluminate combination with ferric. For anyone looking for a full-stop phosphorus treatment replacement that yields better results, it’s worth giving these ATS products a try.
Advantages of ATS products over other phosphorus treatments
Less chemical means fewer solids.
The amount of ATS chemicals needed to treat phosphorus in wastewater is much less than alum or sodium aluminate. Because plants must pay to handle every pound that goes in or out, this can have a significant impact in that reducing the amount of product used for treatment also reduces solids. On the other hand, plants that use high amounts of chemical might be hauling away thousands of extra pounds of solids. Let’s say a plant uses 30 totes of ferric a month. That means there are 15 totes, at 3,000 pounds a tote, of solids. If that plant could cut their solids in half, that’s a full truckload of solids that wouldn’t have to be hauled away! By implementing an alternative solution, we’ve been able to cut some clients’ chemical dosage down to 1/10th or 1/15th of what they were previously using. And now instead of hauling off a truckload of solids every month, they haul off just 4,500 pounds.
A ‘greener’ solution with less corrosion, mess, and sludge.
Those who have used ferric know how corrosive and messy it is. And while alum is more standard, it does produce more sludge. ATS products, on the other hand, aren’t corrosive or messy, and because of lower dosage requirements, produce less sludge to haul away. Plus, using less chemistry is also ‘green’, which is a bonus.
Overall cost savings.
On a per-pound basis, ATS’s alternative phosphorus treatment products are sometimes more expensive than commodities. However, due to the lower dosage required, these alternatives often provide a significant overall cost savings per million gallons treated.
Boost performance and your bottom line with an alternative phosphorus treatment
Better alternatives enable better performance and less dosage, which means a lot less sludge, less handling, and less cost. How would a 40-80% reduction in sludge and a 30-50% improvement in performance affect your plant? If you’ve had to increase dosing to meet regulations around phosphorus in wastewater—and especially if you still are not meeting them—give ATS Innova a call and speak with an expert in phosphorus removal today.
