A Severn Trent Services denitrification system is reducing nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) and suspended solids to meet stringent government standards at the world’s largest denitrification plant in Tampa, Florida, USA. Plant manager Phillip Clark said, the Howard Curren Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant can claim much of the credit for reduced nutrient pollution in the Tampa Bay estuary praised in a July 2007 report by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The NOAA report, “Effects of Nutrient Enrichment in the Nation’s Estuaries: A Decade of Change, National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment Update,” said increased nutrient pollution in U.S. estuaries is linked to human activities upstream from the waterways. While this pollution is getting worse, the report cited Tampa Bay as an example of how aggressive nutrient management can reverse the trend.
The plant utilizes a TETRA Denite denitrification system first installed in 1978 and expanded in 1992. The fixed-film biological denitrification process removes NO3-N and suspended solids in a single treatment step. The system can also be integrated with other plant treatment processes to provide superior total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorous removal. Denite is used as the final treatment step in a total nitrogen removal process to help a facility meet stringent TN discharge limits of less than 3 mg/L.
The improvement in filtered effluent quality of the large flow from this plant has been a documented factor in the revitalization of Tampa Bay over the last few decades. Sea grasses and sport fish have returned to once barren areas of the waterway. Ten years of effluent data (1997-2006) reveal the following results: average flow of 55.43 mgd; biological oxygen demand of 2.52 mg/L; TN of 2.46 mg/L; and TSS of 0.93 mg/L.
CGI recognizes Coca-Cola Brazil’s Rainforest Water Program
In September, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) recognized the Coca-Cola Brazil Institute’s Rainforest Water Program.
The program promotes recovery of watersheds by replanting riparian forests. Such actions fall in line with the objectives of The Coca-Cola Company, which announced a partnership with WWF on World Environment Day to recover the world’s seven main watersheds and become neutral in terms of water use by means of “The Three Rs: Reduce, Recycle and Replenish”.
The program was designed following the rules of the Kyoto Protocol, which includes the recovery of devastated forest areas. In May, the institute began to plant trees in Brazil. In its first phase, set to last five years, the Brazilian program will promote replanting of 3.3 million seedlings of native species along a 3,000-hectare area, involving investments of R$27 million (US$ 13.5 million) until 2011.
The SOS Atlantic Forest Foundation (Fundação SOS Mata Atlåntica), one of Brazil’s most important environmental NGOs, is the partner responsible during this phase for mobilizing landowners, promoting social engagement, monitoring water quality (involving school participation) and raising the local population’s awareness as to the need to conserve rivers and forests. This action directly involves at least 800 local residents.
The programs also includes sponsorship of Coca-Cola FEMSA, the authorized manufacturer in Mexico, Argentina, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and in the regions of São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil.
The world’s largest Coca-Cola plant in terms of production capacity is headquartered in the city of Jundiaí, in a region near Serra do Japi, and belongs to FEMSA.
Hanson Pipe acquired by HeidelbergCement
Building on its leadership in the pressure pipe industry, Hanson Pipe & Precast, along with the newly acquired companies USA-based Price Brothers Co. and Canada-based Hyprescon Inc., is now the largest pressure pipe manufacturer in North America.
In addition, acquisition of Dallas, Texas-based Hanson’s British parent company was completed Aug. 23 by Germany’s HeidelbergCement Group, completing negotiations begun in May.
In March, Hanson bought Price Brothers, a Dayton, Ohio-based manufacturer of concrete pressure pipe founded in 1899. The acquisition expanded Hanson’s product line and capacity in Bakewell, Tennessee; Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Palatka, Florida; South Beloit, Illinois; and Weybridge, England.
The July acquisition of Hyprescon Inc. and Miceli et Frères Ltée, includes Hyprescon’s main concrete pressure pipe facility near Montréal (Saint-Eustache) and facilities near Toronto (Stouffville pressure & Uxbridge pressure & bridge solutions) as well as gravity and precast facilities in Montréal and Toronto. The deal also included Miceli’s two facilities near Montréal, in Mascouche and Saint-Jérôme, Québec.
Other Hanson acquisitions this summer include:
- Carolina Precast Concrete Inc., serving the North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia markets with a facility in Dunn, North Carolina, near Raleigh and Fayetteville
- East Tennessee Precast, LLC, west of Knoxville in Lenoir City, Tennesse
- Austin-based Tullos, Inc., which operates under the business name Texas Concrete Products (TCP).
In addition to precast vaults, ideal for water, wastewater and electrical uses, Hanson also produces other concrete products that can be used for power plant and industrial facility applications.
Field Notes
USA: Adding to his Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth and Nobel Peace Prize for related work on global warming awareness, Al Gore won the title of Green Personality of the Year 2007 at an awards ceremony which lauded those who have had a tangible impact with their efforts to protect the environment. The edie Awards for Environmental Excellence, held at the London’s Natural History Museum, aimed to highlight the vital work being carried out by environmental consultancies in the UK and further afield.
CANADA: Schlumberger Water Services (SWS) acquired Water Management Consultants (WMC), a leading international consulting firm in providing water management services with specialized solutions for the mining industry. WMC employs over 200 people in nine offices on four continents, including in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Chile and Peru.
USA: The U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Global Health and Education Foundation are joining with science, engineering, and medical academies around the world to take action on the drinking water crisis faced by many countries by launching “Safe Drinking Water Is Essential” – www.drinking-water.org. This Web resource will be the first tool of its kind to provide international decision makers with peer-reviewed scientific and technical information about the options available to enhance the safety and availability of drinking water supplies around the world.
BRAZIL: GE has signed a contract to provide Brazil’s largest distribution company, Comgás of São Paulo, Brazil, with advanced pipeline data management software through its Energy and Oil and Gas businesses. This order represents the first sale of GE Energy’s recently introduced Smallworld Global Transmission Office 4.1 software platform in Latin America and the first commercial delivery of GE Oil and Gas’ external corrosion direct assessment (ECDA) application. The scope of the contract also includes GE Oil and Gas’ PipeView Integrity software. GE’s VAR, Logica CGM, will implement the project.
CANADA: Eco-Tec’s biogas purification system won the Canadian Innovation Award for Environmental Technology during the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters’ 8th Annual Awards Ceremony. The University of Toronto’s Dr. James Smith invented the patented process. The company won the award also in 2004.
USA: American Leak Detection, a U.S.-based provider of non-invasive leak detection services, and Environmental Biotech International, a UK headquartered provider of sewer, grease and odor solutions, agreed on comprehensive long-term business alliance to promote environmentally friendly products and services related to water management, water conservation and water recycling.
USA: Rohm & Haas and Dow Water Solutions raised prices globally on ion exchange resins by 10% as of Nov. 15, citing high fuel costs and their impact.
