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Management of Biosolids from
Municipal Wastewater Treatment
Environmental Capstone
December 12, 2009
Lauren Davis, Olivia De Lancie, Emily Madara, Charlotte Eloise Stancioff, Laura Stephenson, Alice Wang, Alex Whittington, Irene Ziri
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Orange Water and Sewage Authority
OWASA is the
community-owned,
non-profit agency
that provides public
drinking water and
wastewater services
to the Chapel Hill-
Carrboro community
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Biosolids Management
• Mason Farm WWTP treats ~ 7.5 million gallons of sewage per day
• Biosolids are produced as a byproduct of wastewater treatment through a high temperature anaerobic digestion process. Dewatered and liquid biosolids are then applied to agricultural lands in Orange, Chatham, and Alamance counties.
• Though OWASA’s treated biosolids have low levels of pathogens and harmful metals, the long-term health effects of land application remain unknown.
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Project Goals
• Assess human and environmental health risks of biosolids land application
• Research and rank treatment methods and alternatives to biosolids land application
• Conduct community interviews to learn public perception of biosolids land application
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Health Effects of Biosolids
Land Application
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Health Effects of Biosolids Land Application
• Land Application Rules governed by EPA Part 503
• No epidemiological or environmental studies were conducted
• “Additional scientific work is needed to reduce persistent uncertainty about the potential for adverse human health effects from exposure to biosolids.” (National Academy of Sciences, 2002)
• Recommendations:
- public outreach
- treatment options
- alternatives
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Alternatives to Land
Application
Composting
SlurryCarb
Microbial Fuel Cells Thermal Drying
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Alternative 1: Composting
• Composting of wastewater is a bio-thermal aerobic process that decomposes the organic portion of the residuals
• Use of microorganisms results in a product free of pathogens that is easy to store and sell as organic fertilizer
• Costs = $6.2 to $13 million
Composting is our #1
recommended alternative due
to its environmental benefits,
reductions of health concerns,
and available opportunities for
partnerships with other
organizations
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Different Methods of Composting
1. Aerated Pile
2. Windrow
3. In-Vessel or
Aerated Static
Pile
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Advantages
It can conveniently
store a large volume of material
Heat produced during
decomposition destroys many
of the pathogens and pollutants
Uses very little external energy
Less equipment and maintenance
needed than other methods
Disadvantages
Difficult to extract heavy metals
Start up cost can be expensive
Large amount of land for
composting
Salmonella can regrow to a limited
extent in finished compost
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Alternative 2: Thermal Drying
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Advantages
Mass and volume reduction
Wide range of market options that can provide revenue from sale
of dry material
A well-proven, successful technology
Easily combined with anaerobic
digestion to provide a nearly
self-fueling process
Disadvantages
High capital and O&M cost
High energy requirement
Is subject to fluctuations in cost of auxiliary fuel
Requires air permitting and air pollution control
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Pre & Post Treatment Options for
Biosolids Land Application
Struvite Harvesting Ultra Sonic Mycotechnology
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Treatment 1: Struvite Harvesting
The Ostara Nutrient Recovery Process
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Advantages
Reductions in nitrogen & phosphorous
loading to eliminate algal blooms
and eutrophication
Sludge volume reduction
Struvite scale prevention
Production of an environmentally-
friendly fertilizer
Disadvantages
Large capital investment ($2 million) that
will be recovered from operation and
maintenance cost savings in 3-5
years.
While it does reduce the amount of
chemicals applied to the land, this
technology is not a true alternative
to land application.
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Treatment 2: Ultrasonic Sludge Treatment
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Advantages
High efficiency of pathogen cell destruction
Increase (30-45%) in biogas production could produce as much
as 240 million m3 of gas or 480 GWh/yr of "green" electricity
Reduces sludge volume (5-25%) and minimizes sludge cake quantity
(25-40%)
Improved degradation of organic material (30-45%)
Enhanced biological nutrient removal with less sludge, improved sludge
stabilization, enhanced dewaterability
Disadvantages
Energy intensive
Expensive initial costs as well as higher maintenance costs (if
renewable energy not captured efficiently)
No full-scale installations in the United States
Requires constant bulk modulus of elasticity and no gas bubbles in
process fluid
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Treatment 3: Mycotechnology
Mycofiltration: water filtration of bacteria, silt, and other contaminants utilizing mushroom mycelium.
Mycoremediation: soil remediation utilizing mushroom mycelium to denature toxic wastes (including hyperaccumulation of heavy metals).
“Example of a mycofiltered manure holding pond.” http://www.fungi.com/mycotech/farmwaste.html
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Advantages
Has potential to greatly reduce adverse public health and
environmental effects
Relatively low start-up cost
Little to no maintenance
Promising results in similar project involving mycofiltration used to treat water contaminated with
manure runoff from farms
Disadvantages
No known case studies involving mycotechnology used for
treating waste water treatment plants’ land applied biosolids
Hyperaccumulation of heavy metals in the mushroom
fruitbody – unknown concentration of metals;
fruitbodies must be annually harvested
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Key Informant Interviews
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Key Informant
• A person “who can provide information about the community or the particular topic in which they are interested and who can link them with other knowledgeable people.”
• Applied to our project, key informant interviews will be important for learning about the knowledge, views, and attitudes toward land-application of biosolids
• Rural residents, elected officials, researchers, and an agricultural operator
• Process, limitations and future possibility
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Common Themes from Interviews
• Lack of Research
• Lack of Regulation
• Lack of Alternatives
• Blind Eye
• Health Concerns
• Forum/Discussion
• Public Outreach/Awareness
• Possible Alternatives/Solutions
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Interview Results
• All Key Informants agree on the possible public
health risks posed by land application
• This indicates a need for unbiased research to
strengthen regulations
• Regulation needs to be enforced
– Ex: Alamance County
• Most key informants support the idea of land
application
– However, we need “Modern Treatment Systems for Modern
Waste Streams”
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Conclusions
• Human health risk
• In the long-run, move away from land application and
invest in alternatives
– Composting
• In the meantime, treatment options
– Struvite Harvesting
• Interviews: need for increasing regulation, research,
and discussion into contaminants of emerging
concerns present in biosolids
• OWASA is not alone in the search for biosolids
alternatives
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