Bord na Móna Environmental Products U.S. Inc., the American market subsidiary of the $550 million Bord na Móna group based in Dublin, Ireland, formally introduced three new wastewater treatment systems at WEFTEC 2008 in Chicago, IL. In doing so, the company said it was significantly expanding its commitment to the United States market.
The company’s new PuraM® Membrane Bio-Reactor (MBR) system is designed to meet water reuse and stringent Total Nitrogen standards within a greatly reduced overall footprint. The system is engineered specifically for the decentralized municipal, community and commercial wastewater treatment market with an emphasis on reduced operational input, ease of maintenance and less complexity than comparable systems.
The PuraM system is based on flat plate ultra-filtration membrane technology assembled into stainless steel membrane cassettes. Each cassette consists of an integral, dedicated air diffuser assembly that eliminates the need for back-pulsing or frequent chemical cleaning. The system does not require permeate pumps or any site-installed chemical dosing system while achieving a typical time between recovery cleanings of approximately 12 months.
The pre-engineered plants are specifically designed for small flow applications providing the reduced complexity and reduced operational input that these decentralized systems require.
The new PuraMAX® Moving-Bed Biological Reactor (MBBR) is engineered specifically for municipal, decentralized or on-site community and commercial wastewater treatment applications where simplified operation and reduced maintenance are required. It is also ideal for high strength and pre-treatment applications.
The system uses an attached growth activated sludge process. Following a septic/ primary tank, the aeration stage consists of recycled plastic media that provide an extended surface contact area for bacteria to attach. An aeration grid located at the bottom of the reactor supplies oxygen to the biofilm, along with the mixing energy required to keep the plastic bio-carriers suspended and completely mixed ensuring good contact between the bacteria and wastewater.
The biosolids are naturally sloughed off the media, which along with the treated wastewater flows by gravity to a clarifier for the separation of solids. Excess solids can be either returned to the septic tank or pumped to a sludge holding tank. Total nitrogen reduction can be achieved with recirculation to an anoxic tank or with a post-anoxic stage with carbon addition.
Bord na Móna’s new PuraSAF® Submerged Aerated Filter is an attached growth activated sludge process that provides a low energy, pre-engineered wastewater treatment solution that is simple to operate and maintain. Specially designed, recycled plastic media act as biomass carriers and provide a large surface area for bacteria to attach. This allows the system to have a much smaller footprint and better oxygen transfer efficiency than traditional activated-sludge processes. The filter normally operates in an upflow packed bed configuration that is readily fluidized for cleaning and desludging.
The PuraSAF has a wide range of applications including as a pre-engineered package system that provides effluent to secondary treatment standards, for tertiary treatment reducing ammonia on existing works or lagoon effluent, a temporary solution during planned refurbishment, as an emergency solution to works failing to meet their permit standards and in an unaerated mode as a low cost solids tertiary filter. Lease / rental options are available to meet client needs.
“Our aim is to provide environmentally responsible treatment solutions to our clients that are sustainable and can reduce carbon footprint while being cost effective,” said Shane Keaney, President of Bord na Móna Environmental Products U.S. Inc., based in Greensboro, NC.
“We at Bord na Móna are dedicated to developing state-of-the-art 21st Century treatment solutions that are fundamentally green by nature. The solutions being introduced at WEFTEC 2008 reflect this commitment, but they are just the beginning of a new chapter that will see the introduction of many more solutions over the next two years.”
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.bnm-us.com. WW
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