Controlling odors that emanate from storage basins and anaerobic ponds is an ongoing challenge for wastewater managers. Solar powered circulation has emerged as one means for achieving ongoing odor control at municipal facilities.
When deployed for odor control, SolarBee™ water circulators are set for a shallow water intake. Only the top two or three feet of the pond is circulated – at rates of up to 10,000 gallons/minute. This constant re-circulation occurs with a gentle, near-laminar radial flow that emanates from the unit. There’s no turbulence, so BOD from deeper water is not brought to the surface. The result is surface absorption of atmospheric oxygen, and the creation of an oxygenated “odor cap” that effectively covers the entire pond surface.
Any sulfide gases, which would ordinarily waft from the pond and cause odor problems, are destroyed by the dissolved oxygen that forms the odor cap.
In creating an effective odor cap it is critical to ensure that influent BOD does not mix into the top 2-3 feet of the pond – because that BOD could use up all of the dissolved oxygen there. Therefore, influent water must enter the pond horizontally – and below the odor cap at the top of the pond.
In some ponds, the influent pipe brings in water vertically from the bottom of the pond. In those cases, a deflector must be lowered over the inlet pipe. A metal table, about the size of a standard card table, works well at deflecting incoming water into a horizontal pattern, keeping that water from traveling to the top of the pond.