EMERGENCY AERATION LED TO OXIDATION DITCH RETROFIT
INCREASING PLANT CAPACITY

SOLUTION

Overview

The Schwartz Wastewater Treatment Plant at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, treated approximately 4 million gallons of wastewater per day. Due to seasonal vacation goers and population growth, the original rotor discs installed in the 3-ring oxidation ditch had been having a hard time maintaining dissolved oxygen levels, which resulted in elevated levels of ammonia leaving the plant.

Challenges

The plant was experiencing an above expected failure rate with its disc rotors. This re-duced the total aeration and mixing capability which led to an inability to maintain DO levels as well as sludge settling in areas of the rings. The failures were also generating plastic debris in the water which was affecting downline equipment. Moreover, the limited turndown of the system led to difficulty controlling DO levels in each ring. With increasing demands and difficulties maintain DO levels, plant operators started seeking options to improve treatment without major structural or electrical changes.

The Temporary Solution

The plant operations group turned to Aeration Industry’s Emergency Rental Program for help. Within a week, Aeration supplied 2 Aire-O2 Tritons to the site. The units were deployed on floats avoiding any changes to the basins or structural changes to the system. The customer did not have to remove the original disc rotors. The operator immediately saw drastic improvements in aeration, mixing, and reduced maintenance, leading to increased flow capacity of the system.

RESULTS

The results were so good that the customer decided to replace all the disc rotors with AireO2 Tritons. After replacement, the original 3-ring oxidation ditch saw a 42% biological capacity increase with only a 27% aeration horsepower increase. Tritons’ dual functionality of aeration plus mixing also gives the plant more flexible turndown. Most importantly, the ditch started reliably meeting the regulated ammonia standard.

Impact

The AireO2 tritons are superior aeration technology for oxidation ditches.

By switching to AireO2 Tritons, the wastewater plant was able to maintain sufficient DO and mixing, resulting in lower, more consistent NH3 effluent values while attaining increased aeration capacity. Plant capacity increased from 4MGD to 6 MGD. The AireO2 Tritons provide higher oxygen uptake, higher turndown flexibility, less down-time and maintenance, better mixing, with reduced sludge buildup and increased available reactor volume.