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U S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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TECHNICAL NOTES m
Hardesty (202) 755-0710
12/19/73
FOR RELEASE UPON RECEIPT
INDUSTRIAL REUSE OF MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER STUDIED
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the
publication of a research report on industrial reuse of municipal
wastewater.
PILOT - DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR INDUSTRIAL REUSE OF RENOVATED
MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER describes work done in Contra Costa, California,
where three pilot plant treatment sequences were operated during the
study to produce various grades of effluent for subsequent testing as
industrial water sources.
The testing was conducted in pilot-sized test loops consisting
of small cooling towers and heat exchangers. At the same time the
renovated waters were tested, Contra Costa Canal water, which is
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presently used by industry in the study area, was also investigated
in a test-loop identical to those used for the renovated water.
The report says that biological oxidation of organic materials
and ammonia in a multistage treatment system resulted in renovated
water suitable for industrial reuse. Filtration and phosphorous removal
in association with biological treatment were also advantageous. Physical-
chemical treatment processes can produce suitable renovated water provided
that a suitable method is developed to prevent the generation of noxious
odors in the activated carbon process.
The study results illustrated that the wastewater investigated can
be treated satisfactorily for reuse in industrial applications. Corrosion
rates and fouling factors observed with renovated water were equal to or
less than found with the canal water. Precipitation of phosphorous was
the major source of scale formation while using renovated water for cooling
purposes, thus indicating the need for phosphorous removal.
The research was conducted for EPA by the Contra Costa County Water
District and Central Contra Costa Sanitary District under a $322,000
research and development grant. /
Other than press copies, the report (EPA-670/2-73-064) is available
from the U. S. Department of Commerce's National Technical Information
Service and the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, D. C. 20460. The GPO price is $1.55.
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U Q TECHNICAL NOTES &
Hardesty (202) 755-0710
12/19/73
FOR RELEASE UPON RECEIPT
CHEMICAL PRECIPITATION IMPROVES TRICKLING FILTERS
Metal addition is an effective polishing technique for conventional
wastewater treatment plants, according to a report announced by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
The report, ENHANCING TRICKLING FILTER PLANT PERFORMANCE BY
CHEMICAL PRECIPITATION, is based on two years of plant-scale studies
at the 1.6 million galIons per day single-stage standard-rate trickling
filter plant in Richardson, Texas. The report says that the addition
of aluminum sulfate was most effective, reducing the levels of effluent
phosphorus, five day biological oxygen demand, and suspended solids to
respective levels of 0.5, and 5, and 7 milligrams per liter.
Commenting on the project, William A. Rosenkranz, head of EPA's
Municipal Pollution Control Division, said, "This technique is an
effective way of up-grading trickling filter plants. It definitely should
be one of the alternatives considered when plant improvements are planned. "
In addition to containing technical data on the study, the
report also includes a number of suggestions on improving overall
plant performance, with and without chemical addition.
The investigation was made by the City of Richardson under a
$200,276 EPA demonstration grant.
/
Other than press copies, the report (EPA-780/2-73-060) is
available only from the U. S. Department of Commerce's National
Technical Information Service or the Superintendent of Documents,
U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. The
GPO price is $1.45.
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U Q TECHNICAL NOTES m
FOR USE UPON RECEIPT
EPA ISSUES REPORT ON LAND DISPOSAL
OF WASTE WATER
Hardesty (202) 755-0710
12/19/73
Land application of municipal and some industrial wastewaters
is a successful method of disposal in many parts of the nation,
according to a new report announced by the U. S. Environmental
Protection Agency today.
Irrigation is the most reliable and common form of land application
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of municipal wastewater, the report says. Over 300 communities were
using this type of disposal in 1972 on croplands, forests, and for
landscaping.
The two-volume research report, WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND REUSE
BY LAND APPLICATION, is the result of a nationwide study of the current
knowledge and techniques of Tand disposal. The study was made for EPA-'s
Office of Research and Development by Mercalf & Eddy, Inc., of Palo Alto,
California under a $67,000 contract.
The report says that, although land wastewalter disposal was useO
in ancient Greece, application of industrial wastewater has been a
relatively new development. The potential of industrial wastewater
application "is nearly as great as that for municipal wastewater."
The report concludes that "land application approaches, where
feasible, should be considered as alternatives in developing waste-
water management plans."
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Other than copies for the press, the report (EPA-660/2-73-006a+b)
is available only from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National
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Technical Information Service or the Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. The GPO prices
are $1.10 for Volume I (the summary) and $2.40 for Volume II (the full
report).
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L3 Q TECHNICAL NOTES &
Hardesty (202) 755-0710
12/ 19/73
FOR USE UPON RECEIPT
APC PROCESS PRODUCES HIGH QUALITY EFFLUENT
Activated powdered carbon - physical-chemical treatment of
municipal wastes can produce a higher quality effluent at costs
equivalent to conventional treatment, according to a new report
published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The report, "Physical-Chemical Treatment of a Municipal Wastewater
Using Powdered Carbon," is based on the results of a study of 100 gallons
per minute pilot plant in Salt Lake City, Utah. The research was done
for EPA by Envirotech Corporation under a $600,000 contract.
The report says that the treatment process evaluated produced
a highly clarified effluent with chemical oxygen demand (COD) values
of 8 to 36 milligrams per liter (mg/1) for carbon dosages of 350 to
75 mg/1. Economic analysis indicates a 40 percent reduction in
capital costs for powered carbon as compared to an activated sludge
plant of similar capacity. Other significant findings were:
* Alum treatment of 10 million gallons per day of Salt Lake
City wastewater for phosphorus removal and clarification was estimated
to be less expensive than ferric chloride or lime treatment.
* The removal of soluble COD by powered activated carbon was not
significantly influenced by the type of chemical used in the chemical
treatment step.
* Anaerobic biological activity in the carbon contractors resulted
in removal of significant amounts of soluble organic materia. .
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With the exception of press copies, the report (EPA-R2-73-264) is
available only from the National Technical Information Service of the
U. S. Department of Commerce or the Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. The GPO price is
$2.25.
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U Q TECHNICAL NOTES
Hardesty (202) 755-0710
12/19/73
FOR RELEASE UPON RECEIPT
LIME TREATMENT REMOVES PHOSPHORUS FROM WASTE WATER
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the
publication of a new technical report, PILOT PLANT DEMONSTRATION OF
A LIME-BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL METHOD.
The report describes the results of an EPA-supported research
project at the Manhattan, Kansas, Waste Treatment Plant, where a 15,000
gallon per day pilot plant was constructed to demonstrate the capabilities
of a lime treatment process for phosphorus removal. The process consists
of lime treatment of the raw sewage with settling of the resultant
phosphorus-rich sludge in the primary clarifier. This is followed by
an activated sludge process where much of the remaining phosphorus is
incorporated into cell mass and subsequently removed.
The report concludes that lime treatment of raw sewage preceding
biological waste treatment is a workable method, capable under good
conditions of 90 percent phosphorus removal. At a pH greater than
9.5 removals of 80% were almost always assured. The phosphorus con
concentration of the wastewater under test was reduced from around
10 mg/1 down to about 1 mg/1. A minimum pH of 9.8 was required to
obtain these removals.
The investigation was conducted by the Department of Civil
Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, with the
support of a $42,585 EPA research grant.
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Other than copies for the press, the report (EPA-R2-73-159) is
available only from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Technical
Information Service or the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. The GPO price is 85 cents
domestic postpaid or 60 cents at the GPO Bookstore.
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L3 P TECHNICAL NOTES
Hardesty (202) 755-0710
12/19/73
FOR USE UPON RECEIPT
EPA PUBLISHES REPORT ON SLUDGE DEWATERING
The publication of SUMMARY REPORT: PILOT PLANT STUDIES ON
DEWATERING PRIMARY DIGESTED SLUDGE was announced today by the U. S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
The new technical report describes a 14-month pilot and plant
scale dewatering research project to select a system to remove
approximately 95 percent of the suspended solids contained in a high
rate anaerobically digested primary sludge. The research was conducted
by the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts at the Joint Water
Pollution Control Plant, a 380 million gallons per day primary treatment
facility.
The applicability of heat treatment as a means of conditioning
digested sludge for dewatering was investigated. Also considered were
such conditioning aids as polymers, chemicals and flyash. Sludge
dewatering schemes utilizing horizontal scroll centrifuges, imperforate
basket centrifuges, vacuum filters and pressure filters were thoroughly
studied.
Operational results were obtained from twenty conditioning-
dewatering test systems of which five successfully; produced the
desired suspended solids removal. Full scale cost estimates were
produced for each of these five systems.
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The report concludes that a 2-stage centrifuge sludge dewatering
scheme (polymer addition to the second stage) with truck hauling of
dewatered sludge solids to a landfill was most suitable for the
facility studied.
The evaluation of data generated by this project was supported
by EPA's Office of Research and Development under a $15,000 contract.
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Other than press copies, the report (EPA-670/2-73-043) is
available from the U. S. Department of Commerce's National Technical
Information Service or the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. The GPO price is $2.10.
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