Landfill Wastewater System
Completed: June 2012
The Seneca Landfill wastewater treatment plant, located near Pittsburgh, faced challenges in treating wastewater containing high levels of ammonia resulting from the extraction of methane gas from the landfill.
As a result, Bassett Engineering worked with the landfill team to retrofit the existing bio-towers with Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors (MBBR) to treat achieve the required level of treatment. BE evaluated existing facilities and prepared an upgrade and expansion plan for the facility, then designed an MBBR system including blowers, air supply piping and diffusers, foam suppression, piping, and permitted the entire project.
The MBBR system was installed in three stages, allowing for the measurement of effluent characteristics at different flow configurations. The final configuration was capable of achieving an effluent ammonia concentration of 4.7 mg/L or less. With the upgraded system, the landfill produced enough green energy to power a third of its daily operations and supply compressed natural gas for CNG vehicles, including the landfill’s own fleet.
To read an article about Nexom’s offerings for the project, check out the write-up on Nexom’s website.
