Technical paper: The journey to select, design and install a BioCord condominium for bacteria in a far north lagoon
DATE POSTED: April 26, 2023
Presented by Tony Kobilnyk, Sales and Marketing Executive, at the 2023 WEAO Technical Symposium
In the cold and snowy terrain of Canada’s far north, traditional wastewater treatment lagoons face a daunting challenge: efficiently removing pollutants like ammonia and BOD from wastewater during the frigid winter months. The Gift Lake Metis Settlement in Northern Alberta is situated 400 km northwest of Edmonton, where temperatures can drop to -30°C. Traditional treatment lagoons suffer from decreased microbial activity in cold weather, leading to reduced effectiveness in removing ammonia and BOD from wastewater. To address this issue, Bishop BioCord™ Reactors offer optimal conditions for microbial growth and metabolism. The rope-type media and fine bubble aeration create a stable biofilm that insulates microorganisms, reducing the washout of bacteria and allowing for continuous treatment in winter conditions.
In the case study presented at the 2023 WEAO Technical Symposium, BioCord™ was evaluated against mechanical options, and was selected as the ideal upgrade option for Gift Lake Metis Settlement’s wastewater treatment lagoon. The BioCord™ system can be installed directly into the lagoon, eliminating the need for infrastructure additions and other costly components needed for post-lagoon systems like tanks, pipes, pumps, and blowers. The full-scale demonstration project, funded substantially by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), Green Municipal Fund, involves the installation of nine reactors and baffle curtains directly into Cell 3 near the outlet, creating a compact, in situ treatment cell that will help the lagoons comply with WSER discharge limits consistently.
The BioCord™ system offers several advantages, including low capital and operating costs, a semi-passive process that requires minimal operator oversight, and a modular design that allows for simple and affordable expansion. With the implementation of the BioCord™ technology, the Gift Lake Metis Settlement can upgrade their wastewater treatment system, improve ammonia and BOD removal in cold weather conditions, and keep costs affordable for the community. Bishop Water is grateful for the opportunity to present a case study of this technology during the 2023 WEAO Technical Symposium.
Read the full paper.
Improving cold-weather ammonia removal in a northern lagoon with an in-situ, rope-type media system. Case study of a full-scale demonstration project.
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BioCord™ Reactors for affordable improvement of cold-weather ammonia removal.
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Is your lagoon suffering from washout?
DATE POSTED: February 28, 2023
Every wastewater plant can experience washout—a condition where high hydraulic loading causes microorganisms to be flushed out of a treatment cell at a faster rate than they can be replenished. It happens during periods of peak sanitary flow or during wet weather and its occurrence may be on the rise as we experience more frequent and extreme precipitation due to climate change. Inflow and infiltration can compound the problem adding more water to the sanitary system and further diluting the treatment process.
Diagnosing washout at your plant
Reducing retention times in treatment cells is the most common approach to enable lagoons to accommodate high hydraulic loading and avoid the need to bypass one or all of the treatment steps. But due to the faster flow, operators may see a decline in the treated effluent quality.
The telling sign of washout is that even after the influent flow returns to normal levels, the quality of treated effluent may continue to suffer days or even weeks after the event. This lag in performance indicates that a significant portion of the microbiological population has been lost to washout and the remainder is unable to provide adequate nutrient removal. The condition will continue until the microbiological population is re-established to the optimum level.
In the warmer months, the microbial population can rebound fairly quickly. But since temperature plays a major role in the growth rate of nitrifying and heterotrophic bacteria, a washout in the fall or winter can have serious long-term consequences to lagoon performance. If temperatures drop after a washout event, the microbial population may not fully recover until the spring, which means the plant could have to operate at reduced capacity or face compliance issues through the cold-weather period.
Build a better home for bacteria
BioCord™ Reactors are a simple, low-energy, fixed-film treatment technology that can help prevent the washout problem. BioCord is like a condominium for bacteria that adds a massive amount of surface area to a lagoon cell and provides the ideal environment for preferred, naturally occurring bacteria to thrive. Even though suspended bacteria may be lost to washout, BioCord retains its productive biofilm. The biofilm continues providing treatment, while also helping the lagoon return to optimum performance following the high-flow event.
BioCord boosts cold-weather performance too
The BioCord Reactor system is also designed to provide reliable removal of ammonia and BOD in cold weather. One way BioCord does that is by increasing the inventory of bacteria needed for wastewater treatment far beyond the capabilities of ordinary suspended sludge systems. More bacteria, means more nitrification and BOD removal.
Another way is that the BioCord biofilm develops in layers, which helps insulate inner microorganisms from cold water. This enables nitrifiers to maintain ammonia removal and respond to loading rates even when the wastewater temperature is as low as 0.5°C. BioCord biofilm has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to tolerate and thrive in cold conditions with observable changes in biofilm growth and greater ammonia removal rates as loading increases.
Learn more about BioCord Reactors and watch our video to see how BioCord easily and affordably increases lagoon capacity and performance.
Contact us to discuss your concerns about washout and other wastewater treatment needs.
Partial lagoon cleanouts help balance performance and budgets
DATE POSTED: August 28, 2020
If you’re going to clean out a cell or two at your wastewater lagoon, there are circumstances when a partial cleanout might be the best, fastest way to quickly fix an urgent capacity or performance issue until the lagoon is ready for a full desludging.
Partial cleanouts, using the Bishop Solids Management Solution, can most often be completed while the lagoon remains in operation, so there’s no need to decommission the cell or disrupt the process flow. Bishop Water can quickly diagnose lagoon performance issues caused by excess sludge and determine the volume and locations of sludge that should be removed from the cell.
Once a plan is ready, the team can mobilise a dredge, its mobile polymer conditioning system and prepare a laydown area for Geotube® containers, are used to collect, dewater and consolidate the solids. Or, if the volume of sludge is small, they can be filled and removed inside 30-yard roll off boxes, making transportation and disposal fast and simple.
Partial sludge cleanouts can also become part of an ongoing lagoon maintenance program to ensure optimum performance. Rather than waiting until sludge accumulation reaches a critical level, lagoon operators or Bishop Water technicians can monitor sludge accumulation in the lagoon and when needed, proactively perform a partial cleanout to maintain an optimized level of performance.
Partial lagoon cleanouts have been used by many lagoon operators to achieve operational and economic benefits including:
- Quickly restore lost storage and treatment capacity in the lagoon;
- Correct flow issues caused by sludge accumulation that create short-circuiting of lagoon flow and reduced retention time;
- Defer the cost of a full lagoon cleanout over an extended period of time;
- Maximize the capacity and dewatering of each Geotube® container. Partially filled containers can remain onsite for continued filling at the next cleanout interval. They will experience significant volume reduction between fill intervals, which will reduce the number of containers needed as well as hauling and disposal costs.
Learn more about Bishop Solids Management Solutions for partial lagoon cleanouts.
Contact us to discuss your lagoon clean out needs.
Is your treatment plant suffering from washout?
DATE POSTED:
Every wastewater plant can experience washout—a condition where high hydraulic loading causes microorganisms to be flushed out of a treatment cell at a faster rate than they can be replenished. It most often happens during periods of peak sanitary flow or during wet weather and its occurrence may be on the rise as we experience more frequent and severe storms due to climate change. Inflow and infiltration can compound the problem adding more water to the sanitary system and further diluting the treatment process.
Diagnosing washout at your plant
Reducing retention times in primary, secondary and tertiary processes is the most common approach to enable the plant to accommodate the higher hydraulic loading and avoid the need to bypass one or all of the treatment steps. But due to the faster flow, operators may see a decline in the treated effluent quality.
The telling sign of washout is that even after the influent flow returns to normal levels, the quality of treated effluent may continue to suffer for many hours or even days after the event. This lag in performance indicates that a significant portion of the microbiological population has been lost to washout and the remainder is unable to provide adequate nutrient removal. The condition will continue until the microbiological population is re-established to the optimum level.
Fall washout = winter performance problems
In the warmer months, the microbiological population can rebound fairly quickly. But since temperature plays a major role in the rate of microbiological growth, a washout in the fall or winter can have serious long-term consequences to plant performance, particularly for wastewater lagoons or other plants where secondary treatment occurs outdoors. In these plants, the microbial population may not fully recover until the spring, which means the plant could have to operate at reduced capacity or face compliance issues through the cold-weather period.
Build a better home for bacteria
Bishop BioCord™ Reactors are a fixed-film technology that can help alleviate the washout problem. BioCord is like a condominium for bacteria, enabling the formation of a robust biofilm with preferred microorganisms that are strongly attached to the growth media and resistant to washout. Even though suspended microorganisms may be lost to washout, microorganisms in the BioCord reactors remain in the system and continue to provide treatment while also helping re-establish suspended bacteria to optimum levels.
The BioCord Reactor system is also designed to provide robust cold-weather performance. BioCord biofilm develops in layers enabling both BOD- and ammonia-reducing bacteria to coexist and thrive. Layering also helps insulate inner microorganisms from cold water to remain active during the winter and continuing to provide nutrient removal.
Learn more about BioCord Reactors.
Contact us to discuss your concerns about washout and other wastewater treatment needs.
Did you miss our webinars?
DATE POSTED: July 30, 2020
Over the past few weeks our team ran a series of educational webinars that took a deep dive into Bishop BioCord Reactors and our new Rare Earth Advanced Coagulant for phosphorus removal.
Our five-part BioCord webinar series looked at every aspect of this simple, low-energy, fixed-film biological treatment process from the basics of how it achieves year-round ammonia removal, to pilot testing, full-scale design and process optimization. Whether you’re considering upgrades to an existing facility, or building a new one, watch our webinar series to learn how BioCord reactors provide low maintenance enhanced ammonia removal with capital and operating costs that are significantly lower than alternatives.
Shortly after that, we presented a webinar introducing a new, rare earth coagulant that outperforms alum- and ferric-based coagulants for phosphorus removal. We explained how this coagulant enables wastewater treatment plants to achieve ultra-low phosphorus levels — as low as 0.07 mg/L — without the need for costly tertiary filtration systems. It can also dramatically reduce sludge production; by as much as 50% in some cases, resulting in significant savings in sludge handling costs.
Visit our YouTube channel to watch the webinars and many more videos from Bishop Water.
Contact us to learn more about Bishop BioCord Reactors and the rare earth Advanced Coagulant.
Bishop’s Christine Gan wins Award of Excellence from Algonquin College
DATE POSTED: June 25, 2020
Bishop Water Engineer, Christine Gan, was recently honoured with an Award of Excellence from Algonquin College for her role as a supervisor and mentor for co-op student Breanna Foster.
Breanna joined Bishop Water in May 2019 to complete the co-op component of her Environmental Technician Program and worked closely with Christine over the next three months. Breanna credits Christine with creating a great environment to apply the skills she learned at Algonquin and to learn new skills while working on a challenging BioCord project to study and optimize total nitrogen removal.
Christine’s efforts helped Breanna to expand her capabilities and interest in a dynamic and rapidly growing industry — one that she’s become very involved in. Once her co-op placement was complete, we were so impressed with Breanna’s performance and enthusiasm, we offered her a job. Breanna’s now a permanent part of the Bishop Water team as an Environmental Technician and is involved in many aspects of product research and development, project delivery and business operations.
And Breanna was so impressed with Christine’s support, that she nominated her for the Outstanding Contribution to Algonquin College Cooperative Education Award.
Congratulations to both Christine and Breanna!
Watch a video about their experience together in the Algonquin College Co-op Program.
Bishop Water wins 2020 Water’s Next Award
DATE POSTED: June 19, 2020
We are honored and excited to receive the 2020 Water’s Next award in the category of Projects and Technology: Early Adoption. The award recognizes the use of Bishop BioCord reactors and the benefits of this simple, low-energy system to upgrade the treatment and performance of the wastewater lagoons at the Limoges WWTF.
This project enables the Nation Municipality to extend the life of its existing wastewater treatment lagoon system and avoid the need to replace it with a costly mechanical treatment plant. Enhanced ammonia removal with BioCord Reactors, in combination with other facility upgrades including screening, grit removal, disk filtration and UV disinfection, allows the Limoges WWTF to alter its operation from intermittent discharge to continuous discharge. With these treatment improvements, the community will be better able to service residential and commercial growth and ensure compliance with treatment regulations.
BioCord is a simple, easy-to-operate fixed-film treatment process. The BioCord system uses strands of densely arranged loops of polymer fibers suspended from free-standing frames to provide a massive surface area on which preferred, naturally occurring bacteria can grow.
With an optimized BioCord system, wastewater lagoons can accept greater nutrient loading, decrease retention times and improve effluent quality—especially in cold-weather conditions, when treatment typically becomes more difficult for conventional lagoon systems.
Bishop Water CEO Kevin Bossy accepted the award during the Canadian Water Summit, which was presented virtually on June 11.
Many thanks to the following:
We are extremely grateful to RV Anderson and Trish Johnson for seeing the benefits of BioCord Reactors for this project, and for working with us to show that this fixed-film treatment technology offers the best technical solution and the best economic value, both on capital and operating costs, to the Nation Municipality.
Thank you to the Nation Municipality for their vision and leadership in choosing BioCord Reactors and for trusting Bishop Water to deliver the biological treatment portion of this plant upgrade. We won’t let you down.
Thank you to Water Canada, The Canadian Water and Wastewater Association and to the selection committee. We are also grateful to the category sponsors, Peterborough and Kawarthas Economic Development and Cleantech Commons at Trent University and to Martin Yuill for presenting the award.
Most of all, thank you to the team at Bishop Water for their outstanding dedication, commitment and hard work — not just for this project — but throughout the entire journey of developing and commercializing BioCord Reactors.
Learn more about BioCord Reactors.
Read the official award announcement from Water Canada
Bishop Water nominated for 2020 Water’s Next award
DATE POSTED: May 22, 2020
Bishop Water has been selected as a finalist for a 2020 Water’s Next Award in the category of Projects and Technology: Early Adoption.
The nomination recognizes the use of Bishop BioCord™ Reactors to cost-effectively extend the life of the Limoges Wastewater Treatment Facility in the Nation Municipality near Ottawa, ON.
This simple, low-energy process enabled the Nation Municipality to avoid the high cost of replacing the lagoons with a complex mechanical treatment plant.
Sixty BioCord reactors will be installed directly into two new lagoon cells that will be created by dividing a large existing cell. Baffle curtains will also be added into the new cells to direct the flow of wastewater through a channel of BioCord Reactors, increase the retention time and prevent short-circuiting.
This configuration provides significant reductions in capital costs since no increase in lagoon footprint or addition of sidestream process tanks are needed for the BioCord system to enhance the secondary treatment process. BioCord’s modular, scalable design also enables secondary treatment capacity to be easily expanded by simply installing additional reactors to achieve the required performance.
With an optimized BioCord system, wastewater lagoons can accept greater nutrient loading, decrease retention times and improve effluent quality—especially in cold-weather conditions, when treatment typically becomes more difficult for conventional lagoon systems.
Winners will be announced during the Canadian Water Summit virtual event on June 11, 2020 by Water Canada and the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA). More information and tickets are available here.
Wish us luck!
Read our press release about the BioCord project at Limoges WWTF.
Learn more about Bishop BioCord reactors
BioCord vs MBBR for lagoon upgrades—improvements without expansion
DATE POSTED: April 28, 2020
Adding moving bed treatment media to a wastewater lagoon might seem like an ideal option to expand capacity and improve performance, but often requires more space and capital cost for tanks, pipes, pumps and other equipment. As a result, moving bed bioreactors (MBBRs) can add significant capital and operating cost, complexity and operator responsibilities to what was once a simple treatment system.
BioCord™ Reactors can achieve similar or better results without expanding the size and complexity of the lagoon operation. That’s because BioCord Reactors are designed to be installed directly into the treatment lagoon and can significantly increase treatment capacity, while also improving cold-weather ammonia removal and BOD removal. These performance enhancements can be achieved for a fraction of the cost of alternative treatment processes.
BioCord Reactors are modular frames that support densely arranged loops of polymer fibers. This design provides a massive, surface area that—like a condominium—rises up through the water column to provide an ideal home on which desirable microbes can grow. The modular reactors can be customized to accommodate virtually any treatment conditions and plant design.
Since BioCord is a fixed-film process and requires no mixing, the media carrier does not have to be contained and retained in a tank—a feature that dramatically reduces capital and installation costs. In most cases, a BioCord system can be installed and fully operational at a wastewater lagoon within just a day or two. The only additional infrastructure is a small shipping container to house low-energy compressors that provide air to the high-efficiency bubble diffuser system at the base of each BioCord reactor.
Once installed, the system is self-regulating and requires virtually no operator oversight since there are few components and mechanical parts to monitor. Operators continue to perform sampling tests as usual and periodically check the compressors and lines to ensure all is in good working order.
Read about our latest BioCord project to improve the capacity and performance of wastewater treatment lagoons in Limoges, Ontario. The BioCord system, along with other upgrades, will enable the Limoges WWTF to improve cold-weather performance and alter its operation from intermittent to continuous discharge. These process changes will also provide a dramatic increase to its treatment capacity, boosting it from 1,500 m3/day to 3,500 m3/day.
Learn more about BioCord reactors for lagoon upgrades.
Contact us to discuss a full-scale or pilot BioCord system for your treatment lagoon.
Construction underway of full-scale BioCord; Reactor system to cost-effectively expand treatment capacity at Limoges WWTF
DATE POSTED: March 30, 2020
Construction is underway of a full-scale Bishop BioCord™ Reactor system to upgrade the capacity and performance of the Limoges Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) in The Nation Municipality, located 45 minutes east of Ottawa.
The low capital and operating cost of the BioCord system enabled The Nation Municipality to cost-effectively extend the life of its treatment plant and avoid the high cost of replacing the lagoons with a complex mechanical treatment plant. The Nation Municipality, along with the project engineer R.V. Anderson Associates Limited, had evaluated several treatment options that could accommodate residential and commercial growth in the community before selecting the BioCord Reactor system.
“The Nation Municipality is always striving to introduce new technologies that will result in lower capital and maintenance costs, and provide a higher quality effluent from the Limoges wastewater treatment facility,” said Mayor Francois St Amour.
Manufactured in Ontario by Bishop Water Technologies, BioCord is a simple, easy-to-operate fixed-film treatment process. The BioCord system uses strands of densely arranged loops of polymer fibers suspended from free-standing frames to provide a massive surface area on which preferred, naturally occurring bacteria can grow.
With an optimized BioCord system, wastewater lagoons can accept greater nutrient loading, decrease retention times and improve effluent quality—especially in cold-weather conditions, when treatment typically becomes more difficult for conventional lagoon systems.
“Bishop BioCord Reactors provide growing communities with a cost-effective option to increase the treatment capacity of a wastewater lagoon without taking on the burden of high capital and long-term operating costs that come with many mechanical treatment plants,” said Kevin Bossy, CEO of Bishop Water Technologies. “BioCord’s simple, self-regulating process also aligns well with the way wastewater lagoons are typically managed, which means operators can quickly learn how to run the BioCord system and how to optimize it to provide consistent, reliable performance under all conditions.”
Expand secondary treatment without increasing process footprint
Sixty BioCord reactors will be installed directly into two new lagoon cells that will be created by dividing a large existing cell. Baffle curtains will also be added into the new cells to direct the flow of wastewater through a channel of BioCord Reactors, increase the retention time and prevent short circuiting.
This configuration provides significant reductions in capital costs since no increase in lagoon footprint or addition of sidestream process tanks are needed for the BioCord system to enhance the secondary treatment process. BioCord’s modular, scalable design also enables secondary treatment capacity to be easily expanded by simply installing additional reactors to achieve the required performance.
Once installed and active, BioCord’s unique, integrated aeration system produces abundant microbubbles that provide high oxygen transfer for the microbial biofilm, while also mixing the activated sludge and scouring excess biofilm from the BioCord.
Project construction is being managed by Ottawa-based general contractor Thomas Fuller Construction Ltd., and is scheduled to be completed in August 2020.
About Bishop Water Technologies
Bishop Water Technologies provides simple, reliable nutrient removal and solids management solutions that enable communities and industries to affordably solve water and wastewater challenges while protecting the environment. Hundreds of sites trust our low-energy, low-complexity customizable solutions to deliver robust performance and easy operation with low capital and operating costs. Our highly experienced and talented team relentlessly supports our clients and works collaboratively with like-minded, environmentally focused partners to continuously enhance the performance, value and sustainability of our solutions portfolio.
For media inquiries contact:
Tony Kobilnyk
Bishop Water Technologies
tony@bishopwater.ca
1-343-361-0463
Contact us to for information about our fixed-film BioCord™ Reactors