UNEP GPA PILOT PROJECT PROPOSAL APPLICATION OF INNOVATIVE LOW COST WASTEWATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY WITH NUTRIENT REMOVAL • Second Regional Worksho

							           UNEP/GPA PILOT PROJECT PROPOSAL

     APPLICATION OF INNOVATIVE LOW COST
WASTEWATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY WITH
                       NUTRIENT REMOVAL




 • Second Regional Workshop on
   Municipal Wastewater Management for Latin America and the
   Caribbean June 10 – 11, 2003, Mexico City
                                  Contact
                              Institutions
•   Dr. Lorna Inniss
•   Director (Ag.)
•   Coastal Zone Management Unit
•   Ministry of Housing, Lands & the Environment
•   Government of Barbados
•
•   Mr. Stan Harvey
    Project Director (Ag.)
    Sewerage & Solid Waste Project Unit
    Ministry of Health
    Government of Barbados
                      Contact Institutions
Dr. Hugh Sealy
Vice-President
Caribbean Water & Wastewater Association
C/O Stantec Consulting International Ltd.
Winslow House, Black Rock, St. Michael,
Barbados.
        Overview of Domestic Wastewater
           Systems in Caribbean Countries
• The majority of the Caribbean population
  resides on the coasts of the islands.
• There is clear evidence that nearshore
  waters are severely stressed by nutrient and
  sediment loads from inadequate treatment
  and disposal of municipal wastewater.
• Less than 20 % of the populations of the
  islands have access to a sewerage system.
      Overview of Domestic Wastewater
       Systems in Caribbean Countries

• The majority of the existing sewerage
  systems throughout the Caribbean are not
  in compliance with the LBS Protocol.
• New sewerage systems either recently
  constructed or designed in some islands
  (e.g. Barbados) are not in compliance with
  the LBS Protocol (for either Class 1 or 2
  Waters)
• To achieve compliance will be
  prohibitively expensive for these Small
  Island Developing States (SIDS).
                       Wastewater Reuse

• In addition to stressed coastal ecosystems, a
  number of countries in the sub-region suffer
  from a lack of adequate freshwater
  resources.
• For example, Barbados is one of the most
  water scarce countries in the world with
  only approximately 170 m3 of available
  freshwater per capita per year.
                 Pilot Project Objectives
• The overall objective of this pilot project is to
  investigate the feasibility of using innovative low cost
  (capital & operating) treatment technology to upgrade
  existing treatment plants or for use in new plants to
  produce municipal wastewater effluent of a quality
  that will be in compliance with the LBS Protocol for
  Class 1 waters.
• Recognizing the importance of removing nutrients
  prior to discharge in sensitive tropical waters, the
  technology must also be capable of removing nitrogen
  and phosphorus at a rate equivalent to that
  achievable by conventional Biological Nutrient
  Removal (BNR) technology.
• Further, recognising the benefits that would accrue
  from wastewater reuse, the evaluated technology
  must be capable of producing an effluent suitable for
  Urban Wastewater Reuse.
             Proposed Pilot Project

• It is proposed that the following
  innovative low cost technology is
  evaluated at a pilot scale:

• Anaerobic treatment & BNR aerobic
  second-stage
                         UASB Technology

• The Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket
  (UASB) Technology was previously thought
  to be limited in its application to only high
  strength Industrial wastewaters. However, in
  the recent past, both in Colombia and Brazil,
  a slightly modified form of the basic
  technology has been proven repeatedly for
  many full-scale city sewage treatment plants.
                          UASB Technology
• The key benefits of this anaerobic UASB
  Technology are to achieve basic biological
  wastewater treatment with a very low capital
  and operating cost, low energy consumption,
  and low waste sludge to be disposed.
• This new style of anaerobic UASB
  Technology has now been proven and the
  technology can be applied for many
  international applications.
                   UASB Technology
• However, the degree of treatment for
  conventional parameters (BOD5 and
  TSS) is substantially less than
  conventional activated sludge
  processes. In addition, the anaerobic
  UASB Technology does not remove
  nutrients such as Total Nitrogen (TN) &
  Total Phosphorus (TP), such as is
  possible with BNR technology.
                Brazil Piracicamirin,
                  Sao Paulo State
             47,000 m3/d (540 L/s) UASB reactors




  H2 S
biofilters
                     Brazil Piracicamirin,
                       Sao Paulo State               Aerobic
                Final 2ry Clarifiers (Lamella)   Sludge treatment
                                                     Building


Lamella Style
  Clarifiers
UASB reactor
     Section
      UASB & BNR Second Stage
• Consultants have completed a process
  design concept using post-treatment BNR
  technology to not only have the UASB
  Technology benefits as listed above, but also
  TN & TP treatment biologically using a low
  cost, low rate BNR system.
• It is this combination of the anaerobic UASB
  Technology PLUS TN & TP treatment
  biologically using a low cost, low rate BNR
  system that has never been proven on an
  operating basis, which will be the focus of this
  proposed pilot plant testing program.
                         UASB & BNR

• This demonstration of the two
  technologies in combination has not
  been done before and if proven
  successful, could form the basis of
  appropriate BNR treatment and recycle
  and reuse of high quality, treated
  wastewater throughout the developing
  world.
          Description of the Process
The Proposed Pilot Plant will consist of three
   main components:
1. Inlet headworks – removal of large solids
   and heavy grit particles. This stage may
   be eliminated with existing preliminary
   plants.
2. UASB Reactor
3. Aerobic Activated Sludge Reactor
            Expected Outcomes And
                          Outputs
• A pilot WWTP will be constructed and will be
  operated utilising effluent from the SCSP.
• Four (4) months of operational and engineering data
  will be collected from the pilot plant.
• Laboratory and field tests will be conducted to
  determine plant performance and effluent quality.
• Unit capital and operating cost estimates will be
  generated.
• A Final Report with recommendations, including a
  comparison with other technologies will be generated
  within six (6) months of mobilisation.
              Project Justification &
                        Replicability
• A number of Small Island Developing States
  in the Caribbean are faced with nutrient and
  sediment stressed coastal ecosystems
  caused by discharges of raw or poorly treated
  municipal wastewater. In addition, a number
  of these countries have scarce freshwater
  resources. Development of and proving the
  process feasibility of a low cost treatment
  technology that achieves compliance with the
  LBS Protocol and allows for wastewater
  reuse by BNR treatment would be very
  applicable in the sub-region.
  Major Project Components And
                     Activities
The expected major project components and
  activities will be as follows:
• Project Process Design and Pilot Plant
  Design
• Construction of the Pilot Plant
• Pilot Plant Commissioning and Operator
  Training
• Operations and engineering troubleshooting,
  monitoring and reporting
    Major Project Components And
                       Activities

•   Laboratory and field tests
•   Final report and recommendations
•   Demobilisation
•   It should be noted that as part of the
    study, local operators (designated by
    the Barbados Water Authority) will be
    trained to operate the Pilot Plant.
                          Constraints
• No logistical constraints are anticipated.
  Land is available at the site of the
  WWTP for the SCSP to construct the
  pilot plant.
• Technical/operator support is available
  from the Barbados Water Authority.
• Laboratory support is available from the
  Government Analytical Services.
 Liaison With Other Projects
              And Initiatives
• If the results of the pilot project are
  successful, a full-scale plant will be built and
  the treated effluent used to irrigate existing
  and pending tourism-related developments in
  Barbados.
• It is further anticipated, that other countries in
  the region faced with similar issues will be
  interested in the results of the study. It is our
  intention to use fora such as the Annual
  Conference of the Caribbean Water and
  Wastewater Association to disseminate the
  results of the pilot project.
         Partners and Stakeholders

Anticipated partners and stakeholders include:
• The Barbados Government
• Caribbean Water and Wastewater
  Association
• Private consultants
• Private developers
• Funding agency
      Project Assessment For
           Success Or Failure
Technical criteria will include:
• Compliance with the LBS protocol for
  Class 1 waters
• Nutrient removal efficiency equivalent to
  conventional BNR
• Effluent quality in compliance with
  USEPA requirement for Urban Reuse of
  wastewater
       Project Assessment For
            Success Or Failure
• Reliability and robustness of the technology:
  The basic process components and
  technologies proposed for the pilot plant have
  all been used independently and proven for
  many years. Anaerobic technology for
  Municipal applications being proven in full
  scale for about 15 years. BNR treatment has
  been used and proven extensively throughout
  the world for almost 20 years. But the
  combination of these 2 technologies has yet
  to be proven on a pilot plant basis.
      Project Assessment For
           Success Or Failure

Financial Criteria:
• Capital and Operating costs to be
  compared to conventional technology
  and membrane filtration.
                                     Projected Capital Costs
                                       I N VESTM EN T CO ST

                   70


                   60
                                                               BNR
                   50
Millions of US $




                                                               Contact Stabilisation
                   40                                          Activated Sludge
                                                               CSBR-BNR
                   30
                                                               CSBR
                   20
                                                               UASB + Aerated Lagoon
                   10
                                                               Aerated Lagoon
                    0
                        20      40      60      80       100
                             Flow in thousands of m3/d
                                       Projected Operating Costs
                                       AN N UAL O PERATI N G CO ST



                            3.5
                                                              BNR
M i l l o n s US $ / Year




                            3.0
                                                              Contact-Stabilisation
                            2.5                               Activated Sludge
                            2.0                               CSBR-BNR
                            1.5                               UASB + Aerated Lagoon

                            1.0                               UASB + BNR Activated Lagoon
                                                              Aerated Lagoon
                            0.5
                            0.0
                                  20    40   60   80   100
                                       Flow in thousands
                                              m3/d
                             Total Estimated Costs
      Project Component               Estimated Cost (US$)



 Process design and pilot plant                   30,000
           design
Pilot plant construction, including               60,000
       detailed engineering
Pilot plant start-up and operator                 15,000
              training
  Plant operation, monitoring,                    105,000
 troubleshooting and reporting
    Laboratory & field testing                    30,000

Preparation of a summary report                   45,000
    and recommendations
         Demobilisation                           15,0000

              Total                               300,000
          Thank you
Questions and Comments