WASTEWATER consisted of wastewater from the landfill flowing through the three upgraded BioPortz MBBR reactors in series. Initially, there wasn’t a significant improvement once the third reactor was put online, but further testing revealed greater benefits once the biomass was fully established. Loading rates were decreased to the third reactor, which allowed the biomass to adapt appropriately and produce the more expected result. UPGRADED SYSTEM PERFORMANCE The average influent flow rate the Seneca Landfill towers experienced in the first 10 months of operation was 69 L/min. The new system, designed to achieve effluent ammonia concentrations of 4.7 mg/L, has been consistently able to achieve this limit or less, therefore enabling them to safely discharge their wastewater. By April of the year following completion, the creek was no longer listed in the top 10 most polluted waterways in the U.S. In addition, after the updated BioPortz MBBR reactors were put in place,
Gas wells at Seneca Landfill. Extracting methane from landfills produces condensate, a wastewater with an even higher concentration of ammonia than leachate.
the landfill was able to achieve its objective of converting landfill gases, specifically methane, into enough green energy to power not only one third of the landfill’s daily operations, but also to heat over 27,000 homes. It also supplies compressed
natural gas for fueling CNG vehicles, including their own fleet. References available on request. Susan Rennie is with Nexom. Email: srennie@nexom.com
John Himanen, has joined R.V. Anderson as a Principal in the position of Manager of Business Development, Water/Wastewater. Based out of our Toronto office, John brings over 27 years of engineering and project leadership to RVA’s team. John’s expertise is in municipal infrastructure, pumping stations, wastewater treatment, sewage collection, and water distribution. He also has a broad range of experience on infrastructure asset management studies, Class EAs, water master plans and servicing studies. John is looking forward to working with RVA’s clients in providing and delivering infrastructure solutions for today’s challenges.
416 497 8600 40 | October 2019
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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine