Annually, Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay is hit with 300 million pounds of polluting nitrogen, according to cbf.org. In Cape Cod, the EPA estimates that 80% of nitrogen loading comes from traditional residential septic systems. Florida House Bill 1379, which requires new septic system construction to include nitrogen-reducing systems, is one of several pieces of legislation across the U.S. aimed at reducing nitrogen’s ecological footprint.
This year, Infiltrator Water Technologies rose to the nitrogen challenge with the ECOPOD-NX, a residential wastewater treatment system designed to achieve an 80% TN reduction, or less than 10 mg/L in a household wastewater system. That’s a 30% increase over Infiltrator’s previous system, the ECOPOD-N, and effluent quality averages 7 mg/L BOD5 and TSS.
“There’s been a push for higher nitrogen reduction,” says Joe Fayan, Infiltrator residential business development manager. “So we wanted to advance our ability to treat nitrogen through the development of the ECOPOD series.”
The leap in technology comes from the NX’s use of MBBR disc media (the ECOPOD-N used a fixed media process) and the addition of a recirculation line that sends treated wastewater back to the anoxic pretreatment chamber for denitrification.
“You can get more surface area on the media for a cubic foot of space within the tank, and the MBBR media is constantly moving inside the reactor box to provide a bit more self-regulating of the biofilm, and we wanted to bring that technology to the residential market.”
Fayan says this all operates under a small footprint, ideal for residential application, as it can all be built into one septic tank. A dual-tank configuration is also available depending on the site’s requirements.
A benefit of all MBBR technology is lower-maintenance operation, but Infiltrator built ease of maintenance into the overarching design philosophy.
“All the maintenance is outside the unit. From an engineering standpoint, by ensuring there are no moving parts inside the tank, maintenance is easy because everything is done above ground.”
Infiltrator’s team of engineers also offer support to onsite installers throughout the planning process. “They can help explain the installation requirements,” Fayan says.” “Where they really provide value is that our engineers can help find work performance while also meeting your site requirements from a permitting standpoint.”
The standard NX unit that launched in January treats daily flows up to 500 gpd, and a 600-1,500 gpd model will launch in the coming months. According to Fayan, the ECOPOD-NX is already making waves in nitrogen-impacted states. “Sales in Florida are exceeding even our highest expectations.”
800-221-4436; www.infiltratorwater.com
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