The Accel-o-Fac® wind-powered WWTP operated by GWM Water for the community of Donald, Australia has been successfully treating sewage since installation of the upgrade in the Fall of 2018, and with virtually no significant ongoing operating cost.
The waste stabilisation pond (WSP) based WWTP for the community of Donald, Australia is today equipped with a wind-powered Accel-o-Fac® facultative biological treatment system. The choice of the Accel-o-Fac® system was designed to resolve prior serious issues of overloading and poor processing in the existing system.
Choices That Impact Sustainability
Often the selected option for overloading in a WSP is to add conventional mechanical aeration, either surface or underwater bubbler systems. The downside to these traditional options is the high cost of operation, maintenance and manpower. Those costs often exceed the initial capital costs and continue for years and years.
The appeal of the Gurney Environmental Accel-o-Fac® solution to GWM Water was the well-proven low energy, no ongoing sludge handling or disposal, almost no ongoing maintenance issues or costs, and water of a quality appropriate for potential reuse as irrigation.
DATA
Q (avg.): 394 cu. m /day
BOD: 108 kg/day
TSS: 126 kg/day
Ammonia: 14 kg/dayWithin the Influent Area:
Surface Loading: 320 kg. BOD/ha/day
Retention Time: 10 Days
Previously Anoxic/Septic Overloaded Primary Treatment Cell
Prior to installation of the Accel-o-Fac® retrofit, the WSP primary cell at Donald, Australia was loaded well above what natural reaeration could keep up with (see data block). The pink colour indicated the presence of pink sulphur-producing bacteria indicating anoxic/septic conditions. When the BOD loading exceeds the ability to maintain aerobic conditions within a treatment cell, the powerful aerobic and facultative bacteria become dormant and no longer perform healthy rates of BOD/TSS removal, odour control, sludge digestion and disinfection.
Healthy, Well-performing Primary Treatment Cell After Retrofit
The installation of the highly-sustainable Accel-o-Fac® retrofit utilising the wind-powered SERIES 3 Aerators/Mixers restored surplus dissolved oxygen (DO) in the upper portion of the primary cell, thereby activating strong aerobic and facultative BOD/TSS processing, odour control, ammonia-nitrogen removal, sludge control and disinfection. By restoring the upper two biological zones — the aerobic and the facultative — the bottom anaerobic zone can now begin proper digestion of all biosolids, thereby eliminating extra accumulated sludge.
See how Accel-o-Fac® works. Click to enlarge.
Extremely Low Manpower and Maintenance
One of the key benefits of the system for Donald and GWM Water was the need for very little operator attention. There is almost nothing for an operator to do at the WWTP short of mowing the grass in the summer months. Equipment maintenance is reduced to inspections every 3–4 months. Not much else is required making the operator's job truly part time!
Superior Effluent for Water Re-use
By providing a superior, significantly more stabilised effluent, the Accel-o-Fac® system can provide irrigation quality water at an extraordinarily low cost.
Well-proven Performance
The decades of proven performance for the Accel-o-Fac® system in numerous industrial and municipal applications underscore the reliability and robustness of the system. Over and over again, the Accel-o-Fac® system has proven an ability to eliminate sludge issues, reduce CAPEX, OPEX and TOTEX, eliminate odours and provide highly sustainable wastewater treatment.
Elimination of sludge lorries, zero-to-low energy usage, little manpower required, few mechanicals involved — all spells an environmentally conscious and sustainable method of treatment of wastewater.
Upgrades — Initial "Quick-Fix" and Total Solutiuon
To solve the immediate issues at the Donald WWTP, a "quick-fix" was installed comprised of the Accel-o-Fac's SERIES 3 windpowered aerators. While this has resolved the immediate issues, Gurney Environmental has also designed a longer term upgrade for the WWTP that addresses issues such as flow patterns, loading and total reductions. As can be seen below, the proposed total upgrade rearranges the cell configurations to provide superior performance overall.
