How to Reduce Biosolids In Wastewater Treatment Lagoons Using Bioaugmentation

Wastewater treatment lagoons are the oldest and most commonly used method for treating wastewater; however, there have been minimal advancements to improve their operation.

Wastewater lagoons produce billions of tons of biosolids each year. Removal and disposal of such sludge poses a real threat to our environment and public health, as well as an immense financial burden to lagoon owners. Excessive build-up of sludge can potentially intensify odors and increase effluent concentrations of BOD, TSS, nutrients like ammonia, and pathogens.

The rising costs of managing sewage sludge together with the emergence of new compounds in sewage, including nanoparticles and pharmaceuticals, are causing headaches for many lagoon owners seeking to dispose of their sludge. Time-honored methods such as application onto farmland or landfilling are running into increased regulatory and public concern about what’s contained in the sludge.

Prior to considering a potential solution, it is important to understand the root cause of the problem. Municipal treatment facilities have used similar technologies for hundreds or even thousands of years – collecting sewage flow in ponds, where natural physical and biological processes break it down into less-objectionable materials.
With the rise in environmental standards over the past 40 years, these collection and storage lagoons have been pressed into service as secondary treatment facilities through the addition of aeration. Aerated lagoons have greater treatment capacity but are more expensive to operate than a storage lagoon and tend to accumulate sludge, gradually robbing them of treatment capacity.

MICROCAT-SR is formulated with microbial degraders that efficiently convert incoming organics to carbon dioxide rather than additional cell mass. MICROCAT-SR also contains a combination of enzymes selected for their ability to break down a broad range of substances encountered in domestic wastes and sludges. These include ligno-cellulosics, greases, fats, proteins, fibrous solids and other wastes. Such substances tend to accumulate in the waste sludge, reducing its dewaterability and increasing its mass. So using Microcat-SR can reduce the sludge accumulation during the wastewater treatment process when augmented into the aerated portion of and further reduce the solids that have accumulated.

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