Problem:
A municipal wastewater treatment in south Georgia was having major problems with poor settling and digestion in the 80,000 gallon aerobic digester which resulted in excessive wasting of bio-solids. This plant has an average daily influent of 1,700,000. The operators were unable to decant any clear water off the digester. The plant was experiencing a major build up of solids, and there were no more drying beds available to handle the waste. The wet well at the head of the plant was 90% capped over with grease and oil. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division was strongly recommending that the plant find a solution to the heavy solids wasting. The city government was also interested in reducing the expense associated with hauling and disposal of the bio-solids.

Solution:
Histosol OP-Bio5 was used to shock the at a rate 52 PPM (based on daily influent) which equates to 90 gallons, and a daily maintenance program was started at a rate of 10 gallons per day (5.8 PPM). The product was applied directly into the wet well at the head of the plant for the shock as well as the daily maintenance treatment.

Conclusion:
Three days after treatment began the cap on the wet well was reduced by 85% and the plant operators reported decanting 4 ½ feet of clear water off the digester. Over the course of the first three weeks of treatment the plant operators reported decanting up to 7 ½ feet of water per cycle.