Retrofit for treatment of EDCs in the Easton wastewater treatment plant

1. Retrofit for treatment of EDCs in the Easton wastewater treatment plant Presented by: Eric Backlund, Dan Kucz, Dan Weaver a.k.a. WeriK, Inc. for CE372

2. Objectives • Gain an understanding of EDCs in our environment • Analyze possible methods of treatment for EDCs • Choose an applicable retrofit for Easton wastewater treatment plant based on the multidisciplinary approach with Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC) and DeSales University • Provide costs of implementation for the retrofit

3. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) • Over 87,000 kinds found in the environment (Scruggs, 2004) • Proven harmful to wildlife – proven harmful to humans in high concentrations • Should be treated in wastewater from a societal standpoint, according to LCCC students • Should be limited to 0.1 parts per trillion (ppt) from a biological standpoint, according to DeSales University students

4. Methods for Treatment • Ion exchange/Chemical Precipitation • Chlorination • Ultraviolet • Ozonation • Osmosis/Membrane (filter) • Activated Carbon adsorption • Why? • Effective at removing wide range of EDCs • Applicable to full-scale implementation

5. Environmental Aspect • Received a wastewater sample from Easton Wastewater Treatment Plant • Spiked the water with Estradiol, E2 to heighten the estrogen concentration • Tested different amounts of carbon • Filtrasorb 600 • Carbsorb 40 • Data analysis was done to get values for calculating the cost of the carbon

6. Environmental Aspect Cont’d… • Cost calculations were run for the four carbons provided to us • GAC Costs • Carbon 1 -- $8.46 per day • Carbon 2 -- $9.20 per day • Filtrasorb 600 -- $139,841.14 per day • Carbsorb 40 -- $45,486.95 per day • PAC Costs • Carbon 1 -- $992.61 per day • Carbon 2 -- $60.22 per day • Filtrasorb 600 -- $202,427,912.29 per day • Carbsorb 40 -- $221,294,385.80 per day

7. Site Description Easton Wastewater Treatment Plant • Located on Route 611 between I-78 and the Delaware River • Serves ~56,000 people (Water Partnership Council, 2001) • ~4-5MGD operational flow rate

8. Design Criteria • 10MGD max flow rate • 10 year lifespan • Activated Carbon adsorption treatment process • Granular activated carbon (GAC) • Columns • Regeneration of carbon • Powder activated carbon (PAC) • Mix into water • Increased sludge removal in secondary clarifiers • 2 part GAC/PAC system

9. Recommendations for design • Design GAC treatment for 6.5MGD based on population increases over the past 50 years in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area (CensusScope, 2000) • For remaining 3.5MGD, implement a PAC mixer box…PAC can be used in emergency situations and during regeneration periods • 5 GAC columns at 15.5’ width each, in parallel flow • PAC mixer box installed at current flow division box

10. Locations for implementation GAC • Near chlorination tanks PAC • Near flow division box PAC GAC

11. Costs of retrofit to users PAC GAC TOTAL COST TO USERS: $4.17 per person/yr

12. Any Questions???