United States Environmental Protection Agency Water Engineering Research Laboratory Cincinnati OH 45268 Research and Development EPA/600/S9-85/005 Apr. 1985 Project Summary Proceedings: Seminar/Workshop on Aeration System Design, Testing, Operation, and Control William C. Boyle An air aeration system seminar/work- shop was held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on August 2-4, 1982. Consulting engineers, planners, and other professionals were able to exchange information on current de- sign, testing, operation, and control activities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The 2-1/2-day seminar/ workshop consisted of short, formal discussions on the first day and the morning of the second day, workshop sessions on the afternoon of the second day, and a wrap-up interchange on new directions on the morning of the third day. The conference, cosponsored by theU.S. Environmental Protection Agen- cy and Environment Canada, was held primarily to define areas of agreement and disagreement concerning this ra- pidly-changing technology and to identify associated research needs. The proceedings includes the 25 papers presented at the seminar/work- shop, summaries of four workshop sessions, and a list of seminar/work- shop participants; it provides compre- hensive, current, state-of-the-art infor- mation that should be of interest to all practitioners in the field of oxygen transfer. This Project Summary was developed by EPA's Water Engineering Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, to an- nounce the contents of the proceedings that are available in their entirety in a separate report of the same title (see Project Report ordering information at back). Basis for Seminar/Workshop In the last few years, substantial effort has been devoted in the environmental engineering field to the search for more energy efficient wastewater treatment systems. Since the aeration of waste- water represents one of the more energy intensive operations in wastewater treat- ment, research and development efforts have been aimed toward improvements in design, manufacture, testing, opera- tion, and control of these systems. The following research and development ac- tivities and concerns(currently completed or underway) are addressed in the pro- ceedings: • Clean water oxygen transfer test anal- yses and verification • In-process oxygen transfer test devel- opment and analyses • Alpha factor test procedure develop- ment • Oxygen sensor evaluations • Fine bubble diffuser operation and maintenance evaluations • Dissolved oxygen control strategy anal- yses • Cost-benefit studies on aeration sys- tems and aeration control • Field-scale studies to optimize fine bubble design and operation The major goals behind these broad- based research and development activ- ities are to reduce aeration system energy needs and to improve criteria for sizing oxygen transfer equipment. In ------- extracting maximum performance from both traditional and emerging aeration approaches, four principal technical areas must be addressed: system design includ- ing specifications for compliance testing, shop and field testing, operation and related maintenance, and air supply control. Seminar/Workshop Program In addressing the principal areas de- scribed above, the seminar/workshop was divided into six technical sessions, presented in the following order: 1. Characteristics of aeration systems 2. Aeration system design 3. Aeration system control 4. Operation and maintenance of aer- ation systems 5. Testing of aeration systems 6. New directions Session 1 included discussions of diffused, mechanical, and oxidation ditch aeration systems. In Session 2, papers were presented on translation of clean water oxygen transfer rates to dirty water performance; aeration system scale-up; aeration system design protocols in North America, the United Kingdom, West Germany, and the Netherlands; and blow- er design considerations. Automatic dis- solved oxygen (DO) control, a suggested DO field test protocol, and calibration and evaluation of DO sensors comprised the topical discussions in Session 3. Opera- tion and maintenance activities relative to fine bubble ceramic diffusers, aeration devices used in treating paper industry wastewaters, troubleshooting, and the operator's perspective were addressed in Session 4. Session 5 was devoted to presentations on aerator testing in clean water and under process conditions as practiced in both the United States and Canada. Session 6 was opened u[ discussion of emerging methodologie aerator testing and design. Finally, wi shop summaries on aeration syst design, operation and maintenance, £ ator testing, and oxygen transfer streams are included in the proeedii following the technical papers. The full report was submitted in full ment of Cooperative Agreement I CR809975 by the University of Wiscons Madison under the partial sponsorship the U.S. Environmental Protection Ag« cy. William C. Boyle is with the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706. Richard C. Brenner is the EPA Project Officer (see below). The complete report, entitled "Proceedings: Seminar/Workshop on Aeration System Design, Testing, Operation, and Control," (Order No. PB 85-173 896/AS; Cost: $34.00, subject to change) will be available only from: National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield. VA 22161 Telephone: 703-487-4650 The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at: Water Engineering Research Laboratory U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Cincinnati, OH 45268 United States Environmental Protection Agency Center for Environmental Research Information Cincinnati OH 45268 BULK RATE POSTAGE & FEES P EPA PERMIT No. G-35 Official Business Penalty for Private Use $300 0063240 MERL LOU W TILLEY REGION V EPA LIBRARIAN 230 S DEARBORN CHICAGO ST IL 60*04 I,II,,(!,,,,II,,II,,,(!,,.I..I.I ------- |