WCW24

Mobile Organic Biofilm (MOB) technology has been implemented at several sites throughout North America to increase the settling characteristics of Wastewater Treatment Plant Biomass. The increase in settling allows for increased biomass capacity resulting in the ability to achieve greater Biological Nutrient Removal (ie. in cold conditions). Currently, the H. McIvor Weir Wastewater Treatment Plant in Saskatoon does not achieve cold weather nitrification due to a combination of the slower biological activity at cold temperatures, the Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) of the aerobic zones within the Bioreactors and the design solids loading rate of the secondary clarifiers under conventional conditions. Pilot implementation of the MOB technology will be used to increase the mixed liquor suspended solids and biological activity within the constrained aerobic HRT, while using the increased settling characteristics to increase the design solids loading rate of the secondary clarifiers and protect final effluent quality. The increased settling characteristics of MOB also allow for peak flows to be better handled while minimizing the risk of biomass washout. Pilot implementation to MOB technology will also be used to simulate storm flows to determine allowable peak flow loading that can be encountered at the H. McIvor Weir Wastewater Treatment Plant without affecting final effluent quality. This presentation will provide a background on MOB technology and its purpose for being trialed at the plant, the process of trial implementation, the validation of trial success and the lab data obtained to date on pilot progress.