Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions unveiled zeeDENSE in 2022, coupling ZeeLung MABR with continuous flow densification technology to upgrade and super-intensify activated sludge plants. ZeeLung MABR intensifies biological treatment by up to 50% by supporting the growth of a nitrifying biofilm on a gas-permeable media that also reduces energy consumption by transferring oxygen without the use of bubbles. zeeDENSE is an application of ZeeLung where continuous flow densification is added to the process to improve mixed liquor settling characteristics and increase secondary clarifier capacity by up to 50%.
Prior to 2017, the YBSD facility faced two challenges – increased organic load from population growth and industrial contribution, and a new regulatory target for phosphorous removal. Rather than adopting the conventional solution of building new bioreactor tanks, YBSD partnered with Veolia to implement a ZeeLung MABR upgrade to increase treatment capacity and implement biological phosphorous removal in the existing infrastructure. This allowed the utility to reduce capital expenditure by 75% and implement the solution in less than 18 months – much faster than a conventional upgrade. The ZeeLung MABR solution has been delivering efficient, high-quality effluent for more than five years. According to the YBSD master plan, the next bottleneck in the secondary treatment process is clarification, and YBSD anticipates the need to build new secondary clarifier capacity in the coming years. zeeDENSE offers an ecological transformation with the potential to intensify the capacity of the existing secondary clarifiers and eliminate or postpone the construction of new infrastructure. zeeDENSE was implemented at the YBSD plant in November 2022 to demonstrate this value and benefits for improving nutrient removal and reducing operating costs.
“This first implementation of zeeDENSE shows the power of ZeeLung as an enabling technology and how coupling it with other intensification solutions can deliver even more value for utilities,” said Thomas Buer, Senior Vice President, ES Technologies & Systems at Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions. “When we first partnered with YBSD in 2017, our ZeeLung solution de-bottlenecked the biological system and allowed the facility to avoid having to build new bioreactor tanks. Adding zeeDENSE can deliver more intensification by de-bottlenecking the secondary clarifiers and processing more flow in the existing infrastructure. The zeeDENSE solution allows YBSD to maximize value from their existing assets.”
zeeDENSE was bolted onto the existing ZeeLung MABR system to increase secondary clarifier capacity, optimize biological phosphorous removal, and create operating cost savings from energy reduction and chemical savings.
“The ZeeLung MABR upgrade that we implemented six years ago allowed us to reduce costs for our ratepayers and it continues to deliver excellent effluent quality today. It was a no-brainer to work with Veolia again to solve our issues,” said Cyrus McMains, Executive Director of YBSD. “The success that we’ve seen to date reinforced that ZeeLung is a transformative technology that can save capital and operating costs while also preserving plant footprint.”
Learn more about Veolia’s industry-leading water technology and process expertise that has solved the toughest water, wastewater, and process challenges for industrial clients.
About Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions
With operations in 130 countries and over 10,000 employees worldwide, Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions (formerly SUEZ – Water Technologies & Solutions) solves the toughest water, wastewater and process challenges around the globe. Leveraging a comprehensive set of chemical, equipment and digital enabled services and products, the company helps customers optimize water resources and overcome process challenges. Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions serves customers across all industries, including food and beverage, metals and mining, power, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, chemicals, petrochemicals, pulp and paper, and utilities. Learn more at watertechnologies.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About Veolia
Veolia Group aims to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present on five continents with nearly213,000 employees, the Group designs and deploys useful, practical solutions for the management of water, waste and energy that are contributing to a radical turnaround of the current situation. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, to preserve available resources and to renew them. In 2022, the Veolia group provided 111 million inhabitants with drinking water and 97 million with sanitation, produced nearly 44 million megawatt hours and recovered 61 million tonnes of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) achieved consolidated revenue of 42.885 billion euros in 2022. www.veolia.com
About Yorkville-Bristol Sanitary District
The Yorkville-Bristol Sanitary District (YBSD) is an independent municipal corporation under the provisions of the Illinois Sanitary District Act of 1917. The formation of the District was authorized by referendum at the elections of December 27, 1954, and confirmed by order of the County Court of Kendall, January 5, 1955. The YBSD provides wastewater transportation and treatment services for the City of Yorkville, Illinois the county seat of Kendall County. The District Trustees, R. Brent Ekwinski, Kurt Muth, and Mark A. Luettich, are stewards of the YBSD, and are very aware of the needs of the community.
The Boundaries of the Sanitary District encompass an area greater than 10 square miles. The facility planning area of the District is 33.8 square miles, and the estimated planned ultimate area to be served is approximately 50 square miles. YBSD has one wastewater treatment facility that is designed to treat three million, six hundred twenty thousand (3,620,000) gallons of wastewater per day, or serve a population of thirty six thousand, two hundred (36,200) people. The present population equivalent (PE) is about 20,925.