IT’S ALMOST HERE
The National Association of Wastewater Transporters fourth annual Waste Treatment Symposium, Oct. 9-10, is only weeks away. Have you reserved your room at the Renaissance Orlando Resort SeaWorld? To qualify for the Oct. 8-9 discount price of $150 per night double occupancy, plus taxes, register by calling NAWT at 800/236-6298. Remember that the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference follows at the Orange County Convention Center on Oct. 12-14. Registering for the symposium includes free admission Monday to the WEFTEC exhibit hall (www.weftec.org), where you’ll find many vendors with information on waste treatment. Note that the hotel rate rises to $217 per night after Oct. 9.
Sign up now, because space constraints limit us to 200 people. Download the registration form at www.nawt.org. Registrations must be received by Sept. 28. You won’t want to miss the most comprehensive, hands-on experience the industry offers.
Friday (classroom all day)
All You Need to Know About Treating Septage and Grease Trap Waste
Tom Frank of Tim Frank Septic Tank Cleaning Co., Huntsburg, Ohio, and NAWT president, will welcome attendees and introduce the agenda
Analyzing Your Resources: How to Work with What You Have
Dave Gustafson, P.E., extension engineer at the University of Minnesota and Onsite Sewage Treatment Program trainer
Heading the list of scenarios is how pumpers will treat the septage, then handle the water and sludge from the process. How the waste streams are handled determines the treatment process. Options include thickening septage for land application, discharging water into sewer lines or hauling it to receiving facilities, spray irrigation, or running it through drainfields. The same choices apply to handling sludge. Rural plants can land-apply, while urban locations rely on landfills and beneficial reuse options.
Regulations and permitting are more resources, ranging from dealing with the state to working with counties or even treatment plants. Attendees will receive tips on how to cope with all prime regulators. They also will learn what to look for when choosing their design consultant and engineer.
UNIT PROCESSES
The moderator is Therese Wheaton, owner of Crystal Environmental in Springboro, Pa. Presenters will have 15 minutes to explain the equipment.
Screening and Grit Removal
Representative Doug McCord, EnQuip Co., Exton, Pa.
Pumpers are not in the habit of screening septage, and maybe this step is unnecessary if disposing of sludge at landfills. However, removing the sticks, stones, organic matter, and plastic products before land-applying sludge is a sound idea. From a management standpoint, screening septage as it enters the plant prevents grit from accumulating in the tanks and clogging pumps. Plants processing 10,000 gpd may be able to shovel out the grit twice a year, but those processing 50,000 to 100,000 gpd want to remove the grit mechanically before it shuts down the system every two weeks.
Equalization and Storage
Therese Wheaton, owner, Crystal Environmental, Springboro, Pa.
Every load of septage is different. To homogenize the loads, plants mix them in tanks, ensuring that each batch is almost identical. Tanks also attenuate the flow, from 200 gpm as septage leaves the truck to 30 or 50 gpm as it enters the dewatering equipment. They enable operators to run the dewatering equipment at the most economical and convenient time.
Polymers: Chemical Magic
Representatives Jim Millard, Aqua Ben Corp., Oswego, Ill., and Kathy Mabry, Fort Bend Services Inc., Stafford, Texas
Every dewatering process requires polymers, the chemicals that make water want to separate from septage. Attendees will learn about the various chemistries and how they differ from each other.
DEWATERING OPTIONS
Once the waste streams are chemically conditioned, machines separate the liquids from the solids. The following representatives will discuss the most common technologies:
Screw Press
Wes Bond, FKC Co. Screw Press, Port Angeles, Wash.
Rotary Press
Peter Gagne, international sales coordinator, Fournier Industries Inc., Thetford Mines, Quebec
Belt Press
Dave Deaton, owner, MSD Environmental Services, Centerville, Ohio
Container Filter
Therese Wheaton, owner, Crystal Environmental, Springboro, Pa.
PERIPHERAL COMPONENTS
Pumps
Jeff Seaton, Boerger Pumps LLC, Minneapolis, Minn.
Pumps make the dewatering process possible by moving materials from one place to another. Attendees will learn which pumps work best in what application.
Regulations: EPA 503 and Class A Biosolids
Robert Rubin, Ph.D., professor emeritus at North Carolina State University and consultant for McKim & Creed, P.A., Raleigh, N.C.
Participants will learn the ins and outs of EPA 503 sludge regulations and Class A biosolids options. The EPA 503 regulations cover the land application of the end product when plants mix septage, grease trap waste, sludge from municipal treatment facilities, portable toilets, and other waste streams together. Biosolids, however, are moving from Class B (lime stabilized) to Class A because of its options. The most appealing is that Class A biosolids are unregulated in many states. They can be sold after heat drying or composting, cost less to dispose of, and are more acceptable to the public.
Odor Control
Martin Crawford, president, Bay Products Inc., Stateline, Nev.
Plant operating permits require controlling odors. One way is through site location, but for most plants, the nearest house is 150 feet away instead of one mile. Mechanical odor control options include containing plant operation indoors or covering the outdoor tanks. In both cases, air drawn off the tanks runs through filters before returning to the atmosphere. Biofilters are a popular choice because they are effective, low cost, and low maintenance.
Miscellaneous
Kevin Taylor, product manager, USA BlueBook, Gurnee, Ill.
USA BlueBook is a resource for wastewater equipment and supplies.
BUSINESS PLANS: HOW TO PRESENT YOURSELF TO THE BANK
Tim Pratt, Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Tempe, Ariz.
Pratt will outline strategies to convince loan officers that building a privately owned wastewater treatment plant is a sound investment. Attendees will leave with the information and confidence to create a business plan that makes sense to banking entities.
CASE HISTORY
Luke Deshotels, owner, Big Mamou Bio-Solids Inc., Mamou, La.
Deshotels uses plate frame filter technology to process 20,000 gpd of septage, grease trap, and portable restroom wastes.
Networking time with hors d’oeurves and cash bar
An opportunity for attendees to talk with presenters, engineers, and vendors.
Saturday (morning classroom)
Trap Grease: Transforming a Liability to an Asset
Emily Landsburg, CEO, BlackGold Biofuels, Philadelphia, Pa.
Philadelphia Fry-o-Diesel technology converts sewer grease into biodiesel, a low-carbon diesel fuel substitute that burns in most diesel engines, boilers, and burners without any engine modification. Landsburg will focus on the challenges of processing trap and other brown greases into an ASTM-D6751 fuel, highlight the company’s operations and lay out specific steps to implementing a successful project.
Evolution of Transported Liquid Waste to Beneficial Use with Pre-Treatment Processes; Solving Regional Needs of Haulers and Wastewater Treatment Plants
Therese Wheaton, owner, Crystal Environmental, Springboro, Pa.
Septic tank and grease trap waste haulers can no longer depend on the government for all their disposal needs. The volumes are simply too great. Consequently, haulers are building privately owned wastewater treatment facilities. They treat greater volumes of waste with a smaller impact on municipal plants.
Orange County (Fla.) Grease Management and Industrial User Discharge Permits
Susanna Littell, Orange County Utilities Services Coordinator, Orlando, Fla.
Orange County implemented an aggressive grease trap management program because the area has disposal options. One is Select Processing of Orlando. It dewaters wastes, discharging the liquid to the municipal sewer. Littell will present the relationship between Select Processing and the Orange County Pretreatment program.
Case History of Select Processing of Orlando
Steven Macchio, owner, ClearFlo Technologies Inc., N. Lindenhurst, N.Y.
Macchio will talk about the benefits and challenges of operating a wastewater treatment business. He owns three plants. The Orlando facility, an industrial user, is permitted to process 188,000 gpd of septage, grease trap and portable restroom wastes, and sewage sludge. It handles 30,000 to 40,000 gallons of grease trap waste daily. Class B biosolids, previously land-applied, are now trucked to a landfill.
Q&A session and lunch (included)
Field Trip (afternoon)
Attendees will be bused to Select Processing of Orlando for a tour. Using septage and grease trap waste, vendors will demonstrate operating, screening, and dewatering equipment, polymer applications, and other peripheral devices.
