Microvi, a biotechnology company for water and wastewater processes, recently celebrated the latest implementation of nitrate treatment system at San Fransico’s Oro Loma Sanitary District(OLSD)/Castro Valley Water Pollution Control Facility.
The San Francisco Bay receives some of the highest nitrogen loading of any estuary in the United States. Estimated capital costs to retrofit San Francisco Bay Area wastewater treatment facilities to treat nitrogen is estimated at over $8 billion.
For the project, Microvi and OLSD partnered with HDR Inc. (consulting engineer) and EKI Environment and Water Inc. (project design engineer) to address the urgent issue of high nutrient loading in the San Francisco Bay. This first-of-its-kind installation was commissioned at OLSD's plant in late April 2021. The technology is now meeting the design criteria of reducing OLSD's nitrogen discharge to the San Francisco Bay by up to 400,000 pounds per year.
"We are overjoyed that the Microvi MNE technology was successfully implemented to reduce nitrogen pollution at a fraction of the cost of conventional solutions. This first-of-its-kind installation in the Western United States will preserve the San Francisco Bay by preventing the discharge of millions of pounds of nitrogen that would potentially threaten the health of the SF Bay," said Dr. Fatemeh Shirazi, CEO of Microvi.
Microvi and OLSD held a grand opening of the MNE treatment system on December 8, 2021.
